The Girl Who Cried Wolf
by IseyaHitomi
Summary: The pretty new farmer has caught the eye of two of Oak Tree Town's most eligible bachelors: the handsome, young chef with a bright future and the older, sophisticated perfumer with a dark past...
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

 _Spring, Year One_

A low rustling sound from a nearby bush drew his attention away from the river. He had been contemplating his reflection in the crystal clear water. His thirty-seventh birthday, weeks away, felt like his seventy-third birthday, despite the youthfulness of the man looking back at him from the water's reflection. _All on the surface,_ Klaus thought, and turned to look at the bush behind him.

Using the toe of his boot, he prodded the foliage and a fat white rabbit hopped away. Klaus smirked. _Brilliant. I'll make a perfume that smells like a rabbit._ He sighed and slipped his hands into his coat pockets. _No luck tonight, old man. Perhaps tomorrow._

Klaus, a renowned perfume maker, had clientele from various countries and continents. His perfumes were sought after by princes and princesses, kings and queens. Nature had always been a source of inspiration but as of late the forest surrounding Oak Tree Town had felt empty. The town's stagnation was spreading, he believed.

Klaus Wolff was born in Oak Tree Town. The house that he occupied had become his at seventeen when, while away at boarding school, his father passed away. His mother had died some years before. His parents had loved Oak Tree Town and, as Klaus believed, the town was deserving of their admiration. Hardworking individuals, now dead, had built the town from the ground up and their children and children's children now occupied the space. Oak Tree Town though, no matter how magnificent, was like a diamond hidden away in a safe; it deserved exposure.

From what Ms. Veronica had told him, the exposure was soon to come. She'd brought in a bright and energetic young woman looking to start a farm. The young woman's farm was, as he understood it, supposed to bring in more vendors, more people, more wealth, more exposure, and more influence. He hoped Ms. Veronica was right. His livelihood depended on it.

Without turning on the light, he entered his home and removed his coat, hanging it on the back of the chair at his desk. The new farmer was due to arrive in the morning and he needed sleep. Sighing, Klaus changed into his pajamas and fell into bed, a strip of moonlight from the window lying across his face. _Get some sleep, old man,_ he thought and, turning onto his side, fell into a deep slumber.

 _[...]_

At his desk the next morning, Klaus's focus was on his work. The glass vial in front of him held an experimental concoction of lavender, wildflower, and citrus. The smell was pleasant but still not quite right. A knock at the door made him turn his head.

"One minute," he said and stoppered the vial. He rose and turned toward the door. "Come in," he called.

The door opened and a small woman, with long golden colored hair, stood in his doorway. She wore green work clothes and had a rose-colored hat on her head. Her hair was pulled into a loose, low ponytail. Despite the physical distance between the two, he immediately noticed her scent.

"My name is Minori. I just moved here." She walked up to him and held a small hand out.

Klaus hesitated, inhaling. She smelled sweet, like ripe raspberries and honeysuckle. The smell, though intoxicating, was pure and innocent, with an undertone of naivety that spoke of inexperience.

Clearing his throat, Klaus took her hand in his and kissed the back of her fingers. "Yes, Ms. Veronica informed me of your arrival. Welcome to Oak Tree Town. I'm Klaus Wolff. If you have any questions, please ask me anytime."

"Thank you, Klaus-san." She bowed, wafting her lovely scent toward him. "I should be getting back to Madam Eda, but I'm pleased to make your acquaintance." Minori smiled and, turning on her heels, left, closing the door behind her. Klaus moved to the window and watched her retreating figure.

Once she was out of sight, Klaus returned to his workstation and picked up a quill. _Honeysuckle and raspberry,_ he wrote. He rubbed the feathery quill against his chin. He felt a budding anxiety in his stomach, a sign that he believed to be the beginning of inspiration.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

 _Spring, Year One_

 _Farm work is difficult but I'm slowly adapting. I was so sore yesterday that I couldn't sit down!_ Minori tapped the pencil against the tabletop, and read over her diary entry. Keeping a journal had been Madam Eda's idea and, so far, was a nice break from the labor intensive work of farming. A little more than a week had passed since Minori arrived and she'd expected to feel lonely and to miss her family. Instead, she realized, she felt almost inundated with social interaction. Oak Tree Town was famous for its personable townsfolk and had not disappointed. Not all of the interaction was overwhelming, however. Minori smiled to herself and leaned back in her chair.

 _I'm living in bachelorette heaven!_ she thought, closing her eyes. She pictured Fritz, another of Oak Tree Town's farmers, with his wild red hair and bright chocolate brown eyes. Fritz, though clumsy and somewhat lazy, was extremely kind and cared for Madam Eda like his own grandmother.

Next, Mistel came to mind. Initially she believed Mistel to be young and childish. Instead, he was well spoken and mature with a taste for fine things. On the first floor of the house that he shared with his sister, Iris, he ran an antique shop. Minori thought Mistel impressive, though she suspected that, behind his intelligent purple eyes, there lay a tendency towards mischievousness.

Blushing, Minori then reflected upon the handsome chef, Raeger, that ran the town's restaurant. _Handsome is an understatement,_ she thought. His deep blue eyes reminded her of bright jewels. In the short time that she'd lived in Oak Tree Town, she'd eaten out a lot more than her meager budget could afford.

Minori opened her eyes and stood from the chair. She deposited her journal into her storage box and changed into a night dress. Turning off the light, Minori slid into bed.

There was one other bachelor that Minori knew of and she had purposely left his name out of her journal. She felt that if she wrote his name down, if she acknowledged his presence in writing, he would disappear into thin air. She'd spoken to him several times since arriving but the pervading feeling that she had made him up had not left her mind.

She turned onto her side and forced herself to picture him. _He is real. He won't disappear if I think about him. He won't even know that I've thought about him._ She had to remind herself that her thoughts were safe.

Minori could easily picture him: he was tall, more than six feet, with jet black hair that was, somehow, respectably unkempt. The formal clothing that he wore covered most of his fair skin, leaving only his face and hands exposed. His hands, she remembered, had caught her attention. The skin was soft and his fingers were long and thin, his nails perfectly manicured. She flushed, recalling the soft kiss he had planted on the back of her fingers at their first meeting. His lips, she'd noticed, were also soft.

Though what struck Minori most about Klaus was his long pale face which held thin, soft lips and a long, thin nose. His features were a perfect balance of masculinity and delicacy and were well suited to his posh sophistication. A sole blemish marred an otherwise perfect complexion: a single, thin scar that ran the length of his left cheek.

Minori turned to face the wall. She was aware that she had been avoiding thoughts about his eyes. _Why though? Easy. Those eyes read me like an open book. A book with pictures!_ she added, grimacing. During each of their brief encounters, Minori had felt exposed and clumsy beneath his gaze, her confidence drained. Minori tightened her own eyes, steeling herself to put his eyes into words. The color reminded her of golden streaks of light pouring through foliage at dawn. They felt warm, like the sun, but also chilled her, reminding her that, while dawn meant the end of a long, cold night, even the sun could not disperse every shadow.

Those gold eyes, flecked with green, was her favorite of his features however they made her aware of the chasm between the two of them: his age. Or, from his perspective, _her_ age. Klaus, she'd learned from Madam Eda, was almost thirty-seven. Minori was only twenty-one.

She now turned onto her back and frowned at the ceiling. _Maybe I'm wrong in thinking of Klaus-san as an "eligible bachelor." Maybe he's just...an older guy that lives in town?_ The idea was comforting. Without the romance element, she could enjoy Klaus's company, take in his handsome exterior, and listen to his soft, deep voice without worrying about impressing him. _From now on,_ Minori thought, _Klaus-san will be my older friend, nothing more._

Feeling comforted by her resolution, Minori drifted to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

 _Summer, Year One_

After Minori had completed her daily chores, she visited the people in Oak Tree Town. By the end of summer, this habit had earned Minori the friendship of _most_ of the citizens: Margot, Jonas's wife, had not warmed up to Minori in the slightest. Angela, the town's nurse, was slightly more forthcoming than she'd been when Minori arrived, though she seldom let slip the opportunity to chastise Minori for her habits. Veronica, though consistently pleasant and always helpful, was also distant and never spoke of her personal life. _Like mother, like daughter,_ Minori thought, smiling.

She rode atop her horse, Pinot, who trotted slowly toward town. Summer was coming to a close and the majority of her crops had already been harvested so Minori divided her time between visiting the town and fishing. Today, however, the sun had risen hot and bright, and the heat reflecting off the surface of the river made fishing unpleasant.

The heat had driven many of Oak Tree Town's residents indoors and as Pinot passed in front of the Inn, Minori could see the two small and sad faces of Lutz and Melanie in the upper story window, staring longingly at the outdoors. Minori waved to the children, who waved back and offered half-hearted smiles.

She directed Pinot south, toward the Carpenter's shop where, from an open window, Minori smelled cake. Corona, a zealous (though deficient) baker, was sitting at her kitchen table with a fork. When she saw Minori riding past she waved her fork in the air, her mouth full of cake.

The western part of town, set apart from the central town by two steep staircases, was home to Jonas and his family, Klaus, Marian, and Mistel and his sister, Iris. Minori actively avoided Jonas's home, for fearing of upsetting Margot and, given the time of day, she knew Iris to be writing in her home. Marian was at the clinic with Angela, whom Minori was also keen to avoid ("PEOPLE ARE LAZY IN THE HEAT"). That left Klaus, though Minori could easily put the perfumer into the same category of "not friends" as Angela, Margot, and Veronica.

 _Maybe I'll just go for a swim,_ Minori thought and, clicking her tongue, turned Pinot toward the northern staircase that would take her past Otmar's shop. As she approached the staircase however, she heard the sounds of music. Interested, Minori dismounted Pinot, who began to chew on marguerite daisy planted inside a blue pot, and walked toward the sounds.

The music was faint, though the actual notes were powerful, well played, and spoke of sadness and perseverance. As she neared the origin of the sounds, she immediately recognized the first movement of Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata."

The music, she realized, was coming from an open window in Klaus's home.

 _[...]_

Resting his chin on his fist, Klaus crossed one leg over the other and closed his eyes, brows knitted in frustration. Within several hours of sunrise, he'd been forced by the impending heat to forego professionalism in lieu of comfort: he'd removed his coat and cravat, both of which lay neatly on his bed. He sat at his desk, his shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows and the top buttons of his white shirt undone, exposing his collarbone.

The heat that, from dawn, had worked to encompass the homes in Oak Tree Town found Klaus hard at work on a new perfume, furiously hashing out details while the temperature remained tolerable. Now, the perfume was stoppered and put away, the flavors too sensitive to withstand the warmth.

Klaus pinched the bridge of his nose between two fingers. Since the town's residents were relegated to the indoors, no sounds came through the open window. _The silence,_ Klaus thought, _is absolutely maddening._

Standing, he opened the armoire to the right of his desk. Inside was a Victrola. Klaus removed the machine and carefully sat it on his desk. A record was already fixed beneath the label. He began to crank the handle of gramophone and stepped back with a smile when the soft sounds of "Moonlight Sonata" issued from the large golden bell.

As a young man, Klaus had discovered that the song inspired in him an uncontrollable mischievousness. Something about the dark, repetitive segments interspersed with a ballad of high, sharp notes made his blood chill and, in the pit of his stomach, a morose feeling a loss would develop. He took this sense of loss out on other students at school, once locking a fellow classmate in a "haunted" bathroom by sliding a thick piece of pipe through the handle of the door. He'd also taken the liberty of removing all of the bulbs from the bathroom's light fixtures. Then, while listening to the screams and wails of the trapped student, Klaus had heard the middle of "Moonlight Sonata" in his head. The headmaster had found him with his arm wrapped around an imaginary partner, dancing hand in hand.

Now mature, Klaus understood that the frustration he felt during his youth was not indicative of a personality disorder or mental illness. Rather, his father had been a hard man; not abusive, but certainly demanding of his son. At fourteen, Klaus could recite extensive bits of poetry by heart, play the piano and violin, read Latin, and speak French. His father wasn't impressed, wasn't proud. He was even less impressed when Klaus was expelled and sent home.

 _What was the reason for my expulsion?_ Klaus pondered, wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead with his handkerchief. He'd worked so hard to forget all the unsavory details of his younger years. Marian would know. Marian had, after all, been his closest friend and confidant all those years ago.

He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn't hear three small knocks and he didn't notice the door opening and Minori stepping inside.

 _[...]_

Minori knocked three times and waited, leaning sideways to watch the open window. Though she couldn't see inside the house from the doorstep, she could still hear the music.

"Klaus?" she called, cupping her hand around her mouth. Again, she waited, her eyes on the open window, half expecting him to lean out. _Why can't he hear me? Is he asleep?_

Minori let out an exasperated sigh and turned on her heels, intending to leave but a change in the tone of the song made her stop. The music was heavier, darker. Minori remained in the same spot, curiosity and restraint battling for dominance in her head. She chewed her lip and, mind made up, turned back to the door and reached for the doorknob.

Minori had intended to announce her presence in Klaus's home but, in taking several steps forward, was dumbstruck by what she found inside: Klaus was leaning against the wall, his arms at his side, palms flat against the paneling with both of his boots planted several feet from the wall. Her eyes slid upwards, taking in his long legs, calves and thighs thick with muscle. His sinewy forearms were exposed as well as his throat and collarbone. Beneath his collarbone was the smooth, pale skin of his chest, stretched taut over his slender pectoral muscles. From where she stood, she could see the gentle rise and fall of his chest as he inhaled and exhaled; he swallowed, and Minori noticed the gentle curve of his Adam's apple.

The perfumer's eyes were closed, his face tilted upward. He was so transfixed on the sounds coming from the Victrola that Minori believed she could _see_ the music notes as they wrapped themselves around his body. He was submerged in thought, unaware of her presence, and in rapture of every piano key struck.

As she watched, a bead of sweat ran down the side of his face. Minori realized that she was also sweating, the collar of her work clothes damp. Each breath she took was heavy and she was aware of a thick, humid heat inside her head, her chest, and her stomach.

The song ended, the Victrola emitting a sharp scratching sound. Minori's breath caught, the eyes of a wolf upon her.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

 _Summer, Year One_

"So, what happened next?" Marian asked, leaning forward and absentmindedly tugging on his earring.

Klaus crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his chair, eyes shut. The pent up anxiety and nervousness in his chest had caused the story to spill from his mouth the moment he'd sat down at Marian's table and Marian had asked, "The mysterious Klaus Wolff in my kitchen? To what do I owe this honor?"

" _Nothing_ happened next," he replied after a minute's pause. When he opened his eyes to look at Marian, the doctor had cocked one eyebrow, a small smile tugging at the corner of his painted lips.

"Marian," he said, rising. "She is a _child._ " Then, with the intention of further shaming his friend, added, "We are entirely too _old_ for this nonsense."

"Au contraire," Marian replied calmly, examining the tip of his right index finger's nail. "You are never too old for sex."

When Klaus started toward the door, the doctor quickly stood up and grabbed his sleeve. "Okay, okay. I promise: no more innuendos," Marian conceded, holding up his hand, palm facing Klaus. "Scout's honor. Now, tell me what actually happened, no matter how boring it might be."

 _[...]_

"I-I'm sorry, Klaus-san. I knocked but I don't think that you heard," Minori sputtered. She was wringing her hands in the folds of her apron, a light pink blush cascading across the bridge of her nose. "I really am sorry." She cast her eyes downward to avoid making eye contact but instead caught a glimpse of his smooth chest and immediately looked away, focusing her gaze on the Victrola.

"It's fine Minori," Klaus said as he began to redress. He felt a terrible mixture of embarrassment at his state of undress and pleasure in being caught in such a moment of reverie. The latter feeling was confusing and, until he could sort out the thoughts behind it, would have to sit in the bottom of his chest, heavy and thick.

Minori held her hands in front of her face and shook her head. "No, it's hot outside. I'm leaving. You don't have to put back on your cloth-I mean, if you want to then you should...but you're not really undressed...well, you are, but that's okay." Her face had turned a bright shade of red. "N-now I'm leaving," she rushed for the door.

 _[...]_

"So you just let her leave?" Marian was incredulous. "Listen dear, I love you but you are _so_ dim-witted-" He opened his mouth to continue, but Klaus stopped him.

"Drop it. I think of her like a sister," Klaus replied. He'd returned to the table and, at Marian's insistence, had accepted a cup of black coffee.

"You can't be serious," the doctor replied, stirring milk into his own cup of coffee. He added several lumps of sugar and stirred again, examining the creamy whitish hue of his coffee. He then lifted the cup to his lips, careful to avoid smearing his lipstick.

"Very serious."

Marian put down the cup and dabbed a napkin at his mouth. "Okay. Do you think of her as _your_ sister?"

Klaus's brow furrowed. "I don't follow."

Marian cleared his throat before continuing."Well, if you thought of Minori as your _own_ sister then I suppose you'd be interested in giving the poor dear some advice?" Marian had to raise the coffee cup to his lips to hide a smile. With Klaus, he had to quell any outward expressions of mischievousness.

"I suppose," Klaus replied. "What advice are you talking about?"

"Hmm," Marian put the cup down and examined his fingernails. "Manicure time already." He clucked in disappointment at a chipped nail.

"Marian," Klaus said, his voice calm but forceful. "Advice about what?"

"It's just that," his friend said, leaning forward on his elbows, hands balled next to his ears, "I mean, this is hearsay, of course, and doesn't leave this room but well, I work next to the restaurant, and, as you know, Angela is pretty sharp. Well, she's also surprisingly nosy. You may not know that, actually. Yes, Angela is quite the gossip. Not to whole town of course but when the two of us-"

"Please, Marian," Klaus said. He rubbed his temples, hoping to subdue the ache building beneath. "Please, get to the point."

Marian smiled, slyness lurking beneath. "Angela says little sister spends quite a lot of time at the restaurant. Quite a lot of time." He was watching Klaus's eyes closely. "I suppose the darling has grown quite close to our young chef."

For several long seconds, the room was silent until the perfumer cleared his throat and straightened his gold cravat. _Nice try,_ Marian thought. He'd known his friend long enough to see through his nuances: for instance, when Klaus needed to ensure that his initial reaction was different from his true feelings, he would clear his throat and "preen." _Everything else about you has changed so much, except that. You still can't hide your thoughts from me, old friend,_ Marian thought. He slipped from his seat at the table and crossed the room to his vanity where he sat down to reapply his lipstick.

"I just thought that," Marian said between swipes, "that as her 'big brother' you should perhaps warn her about Raeger's...reputation." He pressed his lips together to even the layer of lipstick and then used the tip of his pinky finger to correct the line of his lower lip.

When Klaus didn't reply, Marian's eyes lifted from his lips to the space behind him in the mirror. Klaus was standing by the window, rubbing his chin. Marian turned around in his seat to look at his friend. "Klaus?"

"I think they are a good match," Klaus replied as he walked to the door. "They are close in age and, who knows, perhaps Minori will be the person to put an end to his promiscuous tendencies."

Klaus opened the door and gave his friend a slight bow before departing. Marian remained seated at the vanity, absentmindedly tugging at his earring again. _Something happened. I'm sure of it. But what?_


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

 _Summer, Year One_

Minori put her hands in front of her face. She meant the gesture to be indicative of _her_ embarrassment at entering his house without permission to discover this scene. Though she couldn't remember exactly what she'd said to him, she knew she'd babbled and her face had turned varying shades of red. His eyes never left hers. "N-now I'm leaving," she said as she ran for the door.

Before she could pull the door open, Klaus wrapped his fingers around her wrist to stop her. Minori gasped aloud and, frozen to the spot, slowly turned her head toward the man standing behind her. _He's so tall,_ she thought as she tilted her head upward to meet his eyes.

He was looking at her with fondness, a small smile dancing across his mouth. "Minori, you don't have to leave. My moment of indecency should not determine whether or not you are welcome in my house. How about coffee?"

Minori felt a sense of relief spread across her chest and she exhaled loudly while simultaneously nodding and smiling. He wasn't mad after all.

While Klaus busied himself with preparing a pot of coffee for the two of them, he attempted to quickly sort out his feelings about the recent incident in his head. He feared that if he didn't their meeting would continue to be awkward and a proper gentleman, he reminded himself, should always be able to carry a conversation.

At the forefront of his reaction was embarrassment at having been caught in such a compromising moment. Discomposure he could resolve. What Klaus couldn't reconcile was the feeling of pleasure he'd received upon seeing her reaction. He'd watched as her breath caught in her throat and her mouth dropped open, her pupils dilating. His skin had flushed at the sight of her eyes wandering over him: she'd looked to his hips then to his arms, his chest, his neck, and finally his face. When their eyes met, the color had momentarily drained from her face and his feelings of ardor and intensity quickly morphed into a solid feeling of disgust with himself. If he intended to view this young woman as a younger sister, then such feelings were highly inappropriate.

 _Inappropriate is putting it mildly,_ he thought. He had completely redressed himself as punishment, his cravat perfectly centered, cuff-links sparkling. Perhaps the desire for comfort was what had made his emotions so lax.

Klaus turned to the table and sat a mug of coffee in front Minori who, in between timid sips, had asked, "Klaus-san, if you don't mind, I'd really like to hear the music again. You see," she went on, "music has become almost foreign to me since I left the city to come here and, well, when I heard it outside I _really_ wanted to know where it was coming from."

"I could never deprive another human being of culture," Klaus replied, gesturing to his study where the Victrola still sat. "You are right, though: music is foreign in Oak Tree Town. I suppose we have the orchestral concert every year, but the town's humble techniques are by no means a replacement for listening to such a talented man as Beethoven." _Always the obnoxious gentleman,_ he thought and drained his coffee cup.

Minori nodded in agreement, laying a finger gently on the needle of the gramophone, tracing the spine of its arm. "It's beautiful," she said quietly.

"It belonged to my father," Klaus replied and, before she could ask about his past, quickly suggested that he teach her how to use it.

"Yes, please!" Minori's face brightened and she stepped away from the machine so that he could demonstrate.

Something about the joy and youthfulness of her reaction made Klaus's heart pound against his rib cage. He moved toward her and gently took the coffee cup from her hands. He sat the mug down on a table beside his bed. Minori's face expressed surprise but as she started to open her mouth to protest, Klaus laid a finger on her lips, drawing them closed. He stood so close to her that he could feel the heat radiating from her small body. Her cheeks were flushed and his eyes followed the bridge of her nose, resting on her large green eyes, encased by long, black eyelashes. Splashes of freckles decorated her face, a detail that he had not noticed before, though the freckles were quickly becoming camouflaged behind a deep, dark pink blush. _Must be the heat,_ he thought and, with his other hand, he reached for the back of her neck. Klaus lifted her long, light hair from her neck and shoulders, unsticking pieces of it from her damp skin.

"Pay attention," he said quietly and altered his position so that he was standing directly behind her. The smell of her hair was maddening and he inhaled deeply. He then bent slightly at the waist and placed his chin on the top of her head and took both of her hands in his, guiding them as he demonstrated how to reset the Victrola needle. When it came time to wind the machine, Klaus instructed her to grasp the lever with her hand. He laid his right hand over hers and tightened his grip, also placing his left hand on her waist to guide her movements. Pressed together, they wound the machine and, with the flip of a switch, the music began.

Klaus immediately released Minori and retreated to lean against the wall next to his bed. Minori looked back at him curiously and took a seat on his bed. Together, they listened to the song, Klaus's fingers unconsciously counting the notes and fretting over octaves. Once the music ended, Minori reset the record and wound the Victrola and they listened to the song again.

"I wish I could dance to this," she said with a sigh, once the record had ended for the second time.

"Perhaps I will teach you," Klaus replied.

Minori looked at him in surprise. "You can dance?"

"Of course," he said, his arms crossed over his chest. He was staring at an empty corner in the room, his face blank. "I can also read and write Greek and I know how to fence though admittedly, I am not particularly athletic."

Minori rose from the bed and stood in his line of sight, forcing his eyes up to her face. "How do you know all of that?"

"Boarding school," was his curt reply. "Now, surely you have more interesting things to occupy yourself with than listening to an old man's music and ramblings?" He'd begun to put away the heavy Victrola.

A tinge of sadness stuck at her heart, though she didn't want to impose on him. She walked to the door, Klaus close behind her.

At the door, she turned to say goodbye. Klaus took her hand and tenderly kissed her knuckles, his head bowed. "Minori," he said, "Thank you for a wonderful afternoon. You made me feel young again." He released her hand.

"Klaus-san, you aren't old," she smiled at him and laid a hand on his cheek. Using her thumb, she traced the form of his cheek down to his chin. "Not an age line on your face," she whispered, "or a single gray hair." She stood on tip-toes and reached upwards to run a hand through his thick, black hair.

He took her small wrist in his large hand and brought it to his chest. Surprised, she looked up from his chest to meet his eyes. The gold of his eyes, no longer bright like dawn, more resembled a harvest moon, intense and dark. His sadness was almost tangible. "Looks are deceiving," he told her and pressed her hand into his chest so that she could feel his heartbeat. "In here, I feel old."

Before Minori could reply, Klaus released her hand and gently pushed her toward the door. "Good afternoon, Minori."

"Good afternoon, Klaus-san," she said and bowed, the door carefully closing in her face.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

 _Fall, Year One_

Autumn came around, hazy and warm, a somewhat less intense extension of summer. An abundance of farm work and a new addition to the farm, a rabbit named Bubble, put a damper on Minori's social life. In addition, she spent much of her spare time indoors, practicing cooking, her sights set on winning the Cooking Festival.

On the rare trips that Minori made to town, she made it a point to visit Raeger at his restaurant. Since her arrival, the handsome chef had taken to requesting Minori's help in trying out new sweets recipes.

So, on a Sunday near the middle of Autumn, when most of the shops were closed, a cold and much welcomed wind had cut through her fields, brought down from the mountains that made up Oak Tree Town's border. She shivered gleefully and laid down her sickle. _Nevermind the grass,_ Minori thought. _Hanako has enough fodder to last all winter. I should celebrate a cool day!_

Minori loaded her backpack with gifts for several of the town's residents, including a warm bowl of bouillabaisse, which she sincerely hoped was edible. She climbed into Pinot's saddle and clicked her tongue, the horse lurching forward in a trot. The clean scent of the golden grass and the bite of cool air on her skin made Minori dreamily shut her eyes and, as she rode, she listened to the soft crinkle of the river behind Elise's paddies and the rhythmic sound of Pinot's hoofbeat against the dry ground. Caught in moment, Minori allowed her mind to wander.

Since her afternoon with Klaus several weeks before, Minori had been leery of approaching the older man. After the door had closed in her face, she'd drunkenly attempted to return home, weaving from side to side, fearful of treading on the wildflowers growing along the road. The pulsating of her blood pounding in her ears sounded like a drum echoing inside her head and she'd stumbled off the path toward the river behind a cluster of newly sprouted soybean plants. Her chest and stomach felt as though they were on fire and to silence the heat, Minori had dove head first into the water, holding herself beneath the surface until her lungs ached for air. When she felt she couldn't hold her breath any longer, she burst above the water, coughing and gasping, feeling purged of the strange internal heat.

 _And what about the heat?_ she'd wondered. That particular day, according to the weather girl, Lillie, had been the hottest of the entire summer. Klaus's house also felt stifling that day, Minori recalled. Perhaps a combination of heat and stale air had gone to her head. _True, the heat had been pretty severe but I don't remember being so uncomfortably warm until Klaus showed me the victrola,_ Minori thought. Her mind replayed the scenario: Klaus's body pressed against hers as they slowly turned the victrola crank together, rocking with the motion; his head on top of hers, his hot breath blowing the loose hairs around her face-

"Minori!"

The sound of Raeger's voice broke through her daydream and she looked up. The chef was standing on the front porch of his restaurant, a broom in one hand, the other hand raised to wave at her. He'd been sweeping the cobblestone steps that paved the outdoor dining area.

"Hello," Minori called cheerfully. "Any new recipes for me?"

Raeger leaned the broom against the side of the building and, when Minori was close enough, took hold of Pinot's reins and tied them to a post near the restaurant. "Yes," Raeger said, stepping back as Minori slid from the saddle to the ground, "it so happens that there is." He held out his arm for her to take. She accepted the gesture and delicately placed her hands on his forearm.

Once inside, Minori took her usual place at the end of the bar. As Raeger came around the corner of the bar, he laid one hand on her shoulder and said, "You look very pretty today, Minori. The change in weather seems to have done you good." He disappeared into the kitchen.

Minori had, at first, been embarrassed by his compliments and had even believed that the handsome chef might be infatuated with her until she heard him pay the same compliments to several of the female visitors, including Lillie. Now, she believed that Raeger was exceptionally polite and complimentary to his female customers.

When he returned, he carried a large slice of yellow cake on a plate. Raeger handed Minori a fork and pushed the plate toward her. Leaning his elbows on the counter, Raeger rested his face against his fists. "Try it."

Eyeing the cake, Minori lifted the fork and cut a small piece. She put it into her mouth and chewed. After she'd swallowed, she shook her head. "No, it's too sweet. Maybe some lemon would help?" From previous conversations, Minori had learned that Raeger preferred honesty and was only truly offended when a person attempted to spare his feelings.

Raeger frowned and leaned forward, pulling a clean fork from under the counter. He took a bite of the cake, his frown deepening. "You're right," he said, then his face brightened, "I must have forgotten the lemon!" He slid the plate away, a smile spreading across his face. "Thank you, Minori. This is why I need you!"

"O-of course," she replied, blushing and studying his features. _He has such beautiful green eyes,_ she thought. _He's so handsome._ "Raeger, listen: you've lived here awhile, right?"

Raeger rubbed his chin, elbows still resting on the countertop. "Yes," he said. "Since I was a child. My grandfather was also a chef and he opened this restaurant when he was my age." He motioned to the air around them. "He left me the restaurant...in his will."

"Oh!" Minori frowned and laid a hand on his arm. "I'm so sorry, Raeger."

Raeger laid his hand over hers and squeezed it, his usual bright smile in place. "It's been a long time now. I've healed. Why do you ask how long I've been here?"

"Well, I was wondering…" She lifted her hand from his arm and absently drew circles on the countertop. "Um, I was wondering if you would know how long Klaus has lived here?" The words rushed from her mouth, blurring together.

"Klaus?" Raeger asked, surprised. He cupped his face in his hands and studied her averted eyes. "Why do you want to know about Klaus?" The ruddy colored blush across her cheeks was not lost on Raeger.

"I wondered," Minori muttered. "Well, he never tells me anything about _him._ When he does he just, he changes the subject." She waited and when Raeger didn't reply, Minori regretfully looked up at his face. The chef's bright green eyes, always full of kindness, were locked on hers and he had a smile on his lips which, when their eyes met, turned into a sly smile. "Do you have a crush on Klaus, Minori?"

"No!" Minori scrunched up her face and looked away. "No, it's just…"

"Hm?" Raeger asked, grabbing her chin with his thumb and index finger. He gently directed her face toward his. "I won't tell," he promised.

When Minori's frown deepened, Raeger laughed softly and, using his thumb, caressed her bottom lip. Upon their first meeting, he'd been struck by her open, honest face. She was naturally pretty; prettier than any of the other girls he'd dated. Somehow he even found her attractive when she had mud caked on her cheek and disheveled clothes. He had grown to appreciate her stamina and willingness to dig in the earth. In the past, he had always been drawn to "gentle" girls, ladies that came with "care" instructions: do not iron, do not bleach, hang to dry. With Minori, _he_ was the "gentle" one.

Surprised, Minori looked at him, wide-eyed. "Raeger?"

Broken from his reverie, he looked up from her mouth to her eyes and laughed aloud at the stunned look on her face. "Do I make you nervous, Minori?" Raeger asked, leaning in further and closing the gap between the two of them. He _wanted_ to kiss her.

Minori could hear her heart pounding in her chest and wondered if Raeger could also hear it. When she swallowed, she felt that it sounded louder than a cymbal crash. _He's probably pulled these same moves on Lillie and the other girls in town,_ she told herself. _The other girls probably giggled and fluttered their eyelashes. Not me!_ She steeled her nerves and replied, "No, of course not! You definitely don't make me nervous."

Raeger sighed and pretended to look pained. "I see. Is it because Klaus makes you nervous instead?"

Minori narrowed her eyes and gave him a small frown, sticking out her tongue. _He's teasing me!_

The chef released her face and stood up straight, scratching thoughtfully at his cheek. "Shame," he said. "If only I was older, maybe you'd like me too."

She let out a frustrated sigh. "I don't _like_ him. He's...like a big brother to me," she retorted without conviction, her mind replaying the burst of excitement when Klaus had laid his finger on her lips to quiet her.

"What an odd relationship that must be," Raeger said thoughtfully, rubbing his chin. Before Minori could reply, the door opened and a pair of Elise's maids came in, talking loudly and giggling. Raeger's mood instantly shifted as he graciously welcomed to two women.

 _Put on the backburner,_ Minori thought and slipped soundlessly from the counter and out the door. _Secret's out,_ her mind told her.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

 _Fall, Year One_

Minori meant to return to her farm to continue her chores but instead found herself walking toward the Antique Shop and, by proxy, Klaus's home. She stopped several yards from his door and looked at the house, brows knitted together.

"He's not home," came a familiar voice behind her, causing Minori to cry out in surprise. She spun around, quickly sputtering an excuse: "I have...I need a perfume...not for me, of course...for...for someone's, um...birthday." _That's a believable excuse, right?_ Minori thought as the voice's owner approached her.

Iris smiled at her, both hands clasped in front of her body. Minori couldn't help but notice the low cut of Iris's corset which accentuated her figure and exposed the tops of her breasts, which were shining and round. A feeling of self-consciousness nipped at Minori's ego and she crossed her arms over her torso. Her own figure appeared boyish in comparison to Iris's.

"Hm, I see," Iris replied, and lifted a hand to her painted lips to stifle a laugh. "A perfume, huh? For someone _special?"_

"No!" Minori exclaimed, flushing. "Just...for my...mom." She cleared her throat and repeated assuredly, "For my mom."

"You know, sweetie, it's okay if you want to visit Klaus. I myself enjoy bouncing ideas off of him. He's quite brilliant." Iris put her arm around Minori's shoulders and led her toward the house she shared with her brother. "Let me make you some chamomile tea. You look absolutely flustered."

The younger woman allowed herself to be led into Iris's home. She took a seat at the kitchen table, hands in her lap. "Have a seat. I'll put on the kettle." Iris turned toward the sink and filled a large, lavender colored pot with water. She sat the kettle on the stove and took a seat across the table from Minori. "Now then," she began, winking at Minori, "What was it you wanted to talk to Klaus about?"

Minori hesitated, debating between remaining in denial about her reason for visiting Klaus or confessing her interest in the older man to Iris. The feeling of camaraderie decided for her, though she intended to proceed with caution. _I have to choose my words carefully,_ she reminded herself.

"Well, we listened to some music together a couple of weeks ago and it was fun. I was hoping to, you know, spend more time with him." After containing her thoughts about Klaus for several months, Minori felt a sense of relief in sharing her secret.

Iris crossed her arms over her chest and absentmindedly smiled. "You're right," she said after a short period of silence had gone by. "He is a lot of fun. Well, he's fun when he's relaxed."

"When he's relaxed?" Minori pictured Klaus with his coat off, cravat removed, and sleeves rolled up.

"Yeah, when you get past the Victorian gentry persona, he's quite an interesting person." The kettle whistled behind Iris and she rose to retrieve it. "Sugar?"

"Yes, please," Minori replied, then hesitantly asked, "Are you saying the gentlemanly thing is a front?" She accepted a warm cup of tea from Iris and held it in front of her face, gently blowing at the steam rising from the liquid.

Iris stirred her tea and placed the spoon in her mouth, looking thoughtful. She removed the spoon and said, "No, not a front exactly. He really has had all the formal training. He was sent to boarding school when he was four years old, you know." She leaned back in the chair. "What I mean is, beneath all the breeding and knowledge about which fork to use, he's a bit wild."

"Wild?!" Minori asked, shocked. Her surprise was so great that she sloshed hot tea down the front of her dress. Grabbing at the front of her clothes to unstick them from her chest, she waved away Iris's concerns and said, "What do you mean 'wild'?"

"Has he shown you his tattoo?"

 _Tattoo?! No, but I've seen his forearms...accidentally._ "N-no," Minori replied shakily. She felt suspicious of Iris's revelation, her mind turning over the possibilities: _Have they dated? Are they dating? Have they...slept together?_

"Do you want to know more about it?" Iris asked, lifting her cup to her mouth and gently taking a sip. Her lavender-colored eyes studied Minori's face over the rim of the cup as she took notice of the young girl's reactions.

Minori swallowed. She sensed that Iris was challenging her, daring her to ask the obvious and impending questions: Where? How did she know?

 _I've never been good at saying "no",_ Minori thought and nodded her head in response to Iris's question. Iris stretched her arms behind her head. She took Minori's cup and placed it in the sink along with her own. When she turned around, she was rubbing her palms together. "Now," the older woman said, a grin spreading across her face, "about the tattoo…"

Unconsciously, Minori leaned forward to catch every word that Iris said.

"Well, you'll just have to ask him yourself!" Iris laughed aloud, one hand on her hip, the other placed delicately on her chest. She laughed harder when the look on Minori's face changed from one of expectation to frustration. "Now, I really must return to my writing. You've given me some excellent ideas for a new character."

"I have?" Minori asked as Iris ushered her to the door. "Wait, Iris-" Iris had escorted Minori onto the front porch and was preparing to shut the door when Minori shouted and put her head through the crack between the door and door frame.

"Yes?" Iris asked, opening the door wider.

"Did...did you date Klaus?" Minori blushed at her forwardness. After all, she'd only known Iris for two seasons. She expected to hear Iris sigh and confess to a romantic interlude between herself and the perfumer; instead, Iris laughed loudly and stroked the top of Minori's head.

"Oh, sweetie. Goodness no! We're friends and that is _all_. Truth be told, I'm much more into the farmer type. You know: working in the fields all day, getting his hands dirty…" She sighed and put a finger to her cheek in thought. "Who knows? Perhaps if Fritz ever gets over you I might just decide to play up my noble sensibilities." She winked, gesturing to her breasts. "Now then, I believe that Klaus has gone walking in the forest and I really must resume my writing. So, shoo." Iris smiled and closed the door.

Minori blinked and looked toward the staircase that led out of town.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

 _Fall, Year One_

When Klaus had returned home after being suspended from boarding school, he'd stood on the front steps of his family home for almost an hour, trying to muster up enough courage to go inside. Winter had come early, the last days of fall brought icy winds and the ground was covered in a light frost and night set early. Marge, Jonas's wife, who had a propensity for monitoring her neighbors' habits, shouted, "It's your own home, kid. Why are you standing on the porch? It's freezing!"

That had done it. The light in the dining room lit up and the door was jerked open by his father, Nickolaus Wolff III. Klaus's father was fair-haired and of a corpulent build. Nickolaus had been brought up in boarding school, where he'd excelled in the studies of philosophy and religion. His earliest memory was of telling the headmaster about another student that he'd seen eating a piece of candy. Sweets, he had reminded the headmaster, were forbidden. Eventually, he had married the headmaster's daughter; a quiet, slight woman with jet black hair and large dark brown eyes. Her name was Mara and she birthed Nickolaus only one child. After her the birth of her son, her health had begun to deteriorate.

"F-father," young Klaus had said, his teeth chattering.

"How great of an _imbecile_ do you have to be to stand outside in the middle of a snowstorm?" His father had crossed his arms over his chest and stepped aside, allowing Klaus to enter the home. "Take a seat. The headmaster has already been here." His voice was even and calm, yet the tone was almost sinister.

 _[...]_

Klaus, now thirty-seven, winced at the memory. He was standing at the edge of the river, hands in his coat pockets. The perfume that he'd been tirelessly working on had stalled, his inspiration drained. For several weeks he'd politely greeted his muse, careful to keep the conversation vague and impersonal. While this tactic had allowed him to reevaluate his feelings for Minori, Klaus's productivity had suffered, his thoughts cluttered. He'd taken a walk with the intention of clearing his head.

 _Perhaps, I have a crush,_ he thought and he picked up a pebble lying near the bank, tossing it up and down in his hand.. _A simple, small schoolyard crush. The type of crush where you pull her hair and push her down._

 _[...]_

"I'm going to give you a choice," his father had said, taking a seat across from Klaus. The burly man leaned back in his chair and crossed his foot over his knee, tapping the toe of his boot to the soft sound of the seconds hand ticking on the clock on the mantle. Nickolaus's eyes were trained on the young boy as he counted out sixty seconds in his head. This trick of waiting one full minute before speaking had a particularly strong effect on the boy. As Nickolaus watched, his son began to squirm with anxiety and absentmindedly tug at the tie around his neck. No matter how uncomfortable the boy became, he knew from experience not to speak first; Nickolaus had beaten that specific flaw out of him.

Nickolaus cleared his throat and began in a soothing voice, "Yes, I believe in second chances but I also believe in autonomy. I have no doubt that you will make the right decision." He leaned forward with the tips of his fingertips touching. "You can either return to school in good form and excel in all of your classes and activities like a man of your social standing is supposed to do or…" Klaus's father shut his eyes and let out a low chuckle, pausing again to count out the sixty seconds.

Another lesson that Klaus had learned as a child: his father was _not_ a humorous man. His father's laughter was a sign of condescension and Klaus's laughter was a demonstration of his own stupidity.

"Or you can get out of his house right this instant." Nickolaus launched forward, grabbing his son by the front of his wrinkled shirt and jerking the boy toward his face. Klaus could see the pulsating of a thick vein across his father's forehead and, when his father spoke again, spittle flew from his mouth and onto Klaus's face. "I don't care where you go. I don't care if you die in the cold. I promise you that you will _never_ step foot inside my home again. You will not see a single penny of your inheritance unless I drop a penny on the ground. You will have _nothing_ because you _are_ nothing without me!" He let go of the boy's shirt and Klaus toppled forward onto the ground. To keep from crying, Klaus ground his teeth into his bottom lip, the taste of copper in his mouth.

 _[...]_

 _The rest is history,_ Klaus thought. He attempted to skip the rock across the top of the water and failed. _I used to be so good at that._ He examined his left hand, turning it over and back. He had delicate, hairless hands which, as his music instructor had told him, was a positive trait. Piano fingers, the instructor had said. Klaus now spread his long fingers apart, stretching each digit individually. He then balled his hand into a tight fist and, turning to the tree behind him, hurled his fist forward, into the tree. The impact of the force rocketed pain up his arm to his shoulder socket. The punch, followed by acute throbbing, was both painful and relieving.

 _Rot in hell, father._

 _[...]_

Klaus had returned to boarding school and, as agreed, behaved exceptionally well. He learned Greek and Latin and how to dance. He knew which fork to use during multiple course meals and he knew the proper form for bowing to ladies and royalty. He took up sprinting and fencing and became exceptionally skillful at both, given his long arms and legs. He could play the violin and the piano. He could uphold any conversation, no matter how mundane and he was well versed in political terms and ideas. In essence, he had become the perfect gentleman.

Yet the winter before his father passed, the only man had made his feelings for his son crystal clear. That season a heavy snowfall fell, burying Madam Eda's crops and freezing an orchard of orange trees. The week prior, Klaus had trudged home, having arrived in a neighboring city by train. Klaus, now seventeen, had not returned home since he was temporarily expelled, opting instead to remain in his dorm room over the holidays. Since it was his last year in school, Klaus had decided to make the arduous trip. The atmosphere of the house was still tense and strained yet to Klaus's dismay he realized that his once burly father was frail, hunchbacked, and dying.

A week after his arrival, Klaus listened to a coughing spell that left his father breathless, wheezing and gasping for air. "Father," he said, setting a cup of steaming tea on the old man's table, "I'm worried about you. I think it's wise for you to see a doctor. We aren't snowed in yet. I can run next door and fetch Marian's father." Marian's father, jovial and eccentric, was the town's only doctor.

As was customary, the sixty second pause began and Klaus waited next to his father's chair, arms at his side. Still counting silently, Nickolaus looked up at his son and beckoned him forward with a crooked finger. Klaus knelt down to his father, surprised to receive so neutral a response.

As soon as Nickolaus reached sixty seconds, he snatched the hot cup of tea from the table next to him and smashed the cup against the side of his son's face. Klaus yelled in surprise and staggered backwards. His cheek, ear, and neck seared with pain from the hot liquid. A large gash had formed across his cheek where the cup had broken when it struck him. Klaus gingerly put a hand to his face and gasped aloud when his hand returned wet with blood. "Father?" He looked up at Nickolaus, who had risen to his feet with the assistance of a cane.

"You pansy. You leech. You don't get it." The old man advanced on him. "You're not smart enough to get it so I'll spell it out: I don't need your help. I've never needed your help. You're worthless." Nickolaus jerked a hand toward the door, his voice steadily rising. "Get OUT! OUT! OUT!"

So, he had left without a word or a second glance at his father. Without a coat or gloves, Klaus braced himself against the blustery winter winds and made his way to Marian's home where he knew he would be welcomed and where his is arrival necessitated no questions.

 _[...]_

When Klaus examined his hand after striking the tree, he was surprised by the lack of blood. _Perhaps I'm weakening. Age will do that, I suppose._ He tediously picked pieces of bark from the cuts, careful of staining his white cuffs.

Several months after Klaus had taken up sole residency in his deceased father's home, he'd found a letter addressed to himself from the old man. The letter was dated the same night that Nickolaus had ordered his son to leave. It's content was an explanation both cruel and enlightening. Klaus had read his father's letter only once, before adding it to the kindling in the fireplace and setting it alight.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

 _Fall, Year One_

"Klaus-san?" Minori timidly asked as she approached the perfumer's looming, dark form. The sun had set and the ebony haired perfumer with his dark olive-green coat had proved difficult to find. However, when he turned toward her voice, his pale skin caught the glare of moonlight from the river's surface and became almost like a beacon, a lighthouse, directing the lost girl toward him.

"Minori. Why are you wandering around so late?" He turned to face her.

A northern wind had picked up and Minori wrapped her arms around herself to ward off a shiver. "I just...I wanted to see you," she said truthfully. She was surprised by the boldness of the words that fell from her mouth. _Some of Iris's confidence must have rubbed off on me,_ she thought.

Though that particular area near the river was cast in shadows, the waxing moon gave off a strong glow and when Klaus smiled, his golden eyes appeared to light up, illuminating like a streetlamp. "Why ever would you be happy just to see an old fool like me?"

She approached the older man and, standing directly in front of him, Minori felt that she could truly appreciate his height. The top of her head didn't even reach his shoulders and she had to tilt her head backwards to meet his gaze. "I like you," she said and feigned a nonchalant shrug. _You never seem to leave my mind._

Klaus reached for her, taking a piece of her long golden hair in his hand as he said, "Minori, that sort of thing is something you should only tell the one you truly love."

 _Boom. Boom._ Minori felt her heart pound heavily in her chest. She wanted to reply to him, to say something witty or grandiloquent to impress him, but no clever repertoire came to mind and when she opened her mouth, nothing but a gasp of "why" came out.

"Hm?" he asked, stepping closer to her and leaning downward. "Why? Well, here, allow me to give you an explanation." He took another step toward her and instinctively Minori took one, then two steps backward. Klaus was not deterred and again moved closer to her. When she attempted to step away, she was surprised by the feeling of something solid behind her: she had been backed against the thick trunk of a large tree. Never losing composure, Klaus put one arm on either side of her head, pinning Minori to the tree. He brought his face down to hers, with his lips positioned several inches away. "Phrases like that can give some men...ideas," he said in a throaty whisper, his eyes locked on hers.

Minori felt convinced that her heartbeat was loud enough for him to hear and the closer his mouth came to hers, the more difficulty she had in drawing breath. With his large body so close to hers, she was shielded from the cold wind, though with every second that slipped past, she felt an internal heat striving to escape, pressing against her skin, causing small droplets of sweat to form on her forehead.

From that small of a distance, she could see every detail of his face. She found herself first studying the thick, black lashes that fringed the perfumer's golden eyes and the eyebrows that framed them were perfectly groomed. His lips, she noticed, were a light shade of coral. She desperately wanted to trace the bridge of his straight nose, to study his high cheek bones, and to examine the shape of his sharp chin with her fingertips. Minori might have found the courage had she not been so overtaken by his scent: he smelled like the darkest part of a forest, the place where no light can reach; where large flowers with thick stems grow; and where water, crystal clear and undisturbed by humans, runs. He also smelled of amber, a scent she could only describe as warm, sweet, and musky. _Hidden sunlight,_ she thought.

She closed her eyes. Klaus watched closely as her face flushed, her lips parted, and her eyelids dropped. Years of practicing patience and strict self-discipline culminated to form this moment and when he issued his warning, he spoke of himself: young, wild, and promiscuous; the person he'd been before his father's letter. He moved his face toward Minori's right ear and tucked a strand of soft hair behind her ear. "If you blithely say such things to every man you meet, then someday you may be caught by a _big, bad, wolf_ and gobbled up," he whispered, his voice taking on the rumble of a low growl. He closed his eyes and smelled, surprised by the faint scent of pheromones that she gave off. Without thinking, his actions temporarily driven by the new smell, he grazed his lips over her ear and nipped at her earlobe with his teeth, a feeling that sent waves of pleasure coursing through his body, culminating around his groin. "So, have a care who you say that to," he said, and it took all of his self-control to step away from her

When she felt his teeth clip her earlobe, she let out an audible gasp. The rush of heat to her head made her feel that she was going to faint; to crumple to the ground at his feet. Blindly, she grabbed hold of his upper arms, pleasantly aware of the hard muscles that flexed beneath her hands.

Then, all at once his body beneath her, and the heat from it, disappeared and she felt a cold wind strike her again. She opened her eyes to find Klaus standing several yards from her, his hands in his pockets. Minori steadied herself and frowned, her eyes betraying her confusion.

For Klaus, the expression of disappointment scrawled across her face did not register. He only read the confusion in her eyes and he thought, laughing aloud with relief, _she doesn't understand my meaning._

Still chuckling he said, "you really don't understand what I meant, do you?" At the sight of her narrowing eyes, his laughter cut off and he lifted his hands in defense. "Sorry. I'm sorry. If you don't, that's perfectly all right. I couldn't help myself, so I had a little fun with the warning, is all."

When she didn't reply, Klaus stepped toward her, reaching out to touch her hair again, but she slipped sideways out of his grasp, hissing, "You're patronizing me." She looked behind her, toward the road that was hidden by trees.

Klaus immediately stayed and laid a hand over his heart. He gave Minori a bow as an apology. "My sincere apologies, Minori. After a long day spent concentrating on work, my tongue gets far more loose than is proper."

Instead of replying, Minori cast another glance at the concealed pathway. Her heart still pounded against her chest and she laid a hand over her breast to calm it. The meaning beneath Klaus's warning was lost on her and, though Minori's pure sensibilities protected her from divining the older man's intonations, she was not so naive as to misinterpret or misunderstand the pleasurable feelings she'd experienced in being so physically close to him. She felt that she was drowning in a sea of confusion.

"I still don't know what you're talking about, Klaus-san, but perhaps I should go." She looked up at the dark sky. "It is late, after all." She offered him a smile and turned toward the road.

"Yes, it isn't healthy for such a hardworking farmer as yourself to stay up so late. Save that for those of us who remain at a desk all day." He bowed again in return for the small wave she gave him as she disappeared into the thicket. After several long minutes had passed by, the perfumer turned toward the river to contemplate his reflection.

As he examined his face in the water's reflection, he felt an uneasy mixture of embarrassment and remorse. He had been too forward with the girl and had compromised her innocence, a situation he'd believed himself to be well past, given his age. Yet, he had intended to warn the pretty farm girl of cowardly men's intentions and he had accomplished that.

Klaus returned to the road, his feet carrying him toward home. _Give how pure and naive you are, Minori...I can't help but wonder if you'll be well._ He felt a bud of anxiety forming within his chest. She hadn't tried to shield herself from his advances. Rather, she'd become an open book: the feelings of pleasure had been spelled out across her face.

Closing his front door, Klaus removed his clothing and slid into bed. He sighed deeply. _Fortunately, I do have some scruples left, so this turned out alright but if you were with someone less honorable…_

 _Ah well. Faced with this much pure innocence, they may just lose all desire to do mischief in the first place._ He thought again of himself as a young man, before his father's death, and knew the answer: in that state of mind, mischief could not be managed. As young as fifteen, he would have eagerly stolen her innocence to add to his collection and then tossed her aside. He pictured Raeger and a heavy, cold feeling welled in his stomach. _Was Raeger that type of person? He did have quite the reputation as a ladies' man. What if she turned that beautiful, bright, and overwhelming smile on him and said she wanted to see him and only him? Would he be able to resist?_

 _Stop it,_ Klaus thought and squeezed his eyes shut tightly, _that is why you are here: to protect her. So protect her, like...like a big brother…_


	10. Chapter 10

Hello everyone! Thank you so much for commenting on my fanfic. You can't imagine how happy it makes me that someone else is enjoying reading my story as much as I enjoy writing it! -Hitomi 

* * *

Chapter Ten

 _Winter, Year One_

The news of Madam Eda's death traveled quickly; flower arrangements and condolences were already being made long before Ms. Veronica officially announced the old woman's passing and Minori's subsequent inheritance of her land. A dark cloud was cast over each member of the usually cheery town, though no one took the news of her death worse than Fritz who, orphaned at a young age, was an unofficial adoptee of Madam Eda.

The inheritance was no consolation to Minori, who had made it a point to visit her mentor every morning. She trudged through three sad and guilt-ridden days before reminding herself that the little old lady would have wanted her to succeed, not mope. After all, on her deathbed she had bequeathed her land to Minori with the belief that the young woman would become a victorious and renowned farmer. Once Madam Eda's riverside memorial was built, Minori made a promise over it that she would make the lady proud.

Winter, however, was not a season of abundant harvests or working to exhaustion so Minori decidedly spent most of her time in Oak Tree Town. Now that the town was a well-known source of commerce, people of every age and occupation came from all over to buy, sell, and trade goods. The strangers tended to converge in the foyer of the Guild so Minori had taken to visiting Veronica's keep so that she could interact with the strange newcomers. When trade was slow or no vendors were in the market square, Minori liked to visit Marian, whom she had become very fond of.

Marian, she learned, held an interesting array of "philosophical" ideas that he liked to share and in Minori, he found a willing and patient listener. By proxy, Angela was usually privy to the conversations. Angela, Minori noticed, had two primary objectives in life: to worry over her mother's health and to keep Marian focused. Despite a tendency toward passive-aggressive behavior, the nurse had grown on Minori and she found that she actually _liked_ Angela.

"Minori, darling, have I told you about my theory on lipstick shades for men?" The doctor asked as Minori entered his office. The morning had begun with a thick snowfall and, by the time Minori and Pinot trotted into town, the streets were deserted, the visitors having never made their usual trip into Oak Tree Town.

"No, you haven't," Minori replied, taking her usual seat directly across from the doctor.

"Well," Marian said, pulling a nail file from a nearby drawer, "there are only two acceptable shades of lip color for men and that depends all on the-"

"Excuse me, doctor. Don't you have patient files to go over?" Angela was standing at a bookshelf nearby and she turned to face the two, a heavy book in her hands.

"I _am_ working with a file, Angela, my darling, "Marian held up his nail file and laughed loudly, his fuchsia colored lipstick painted in a perfect bow around his mouth.

Angela showed no signs of amusement. She slammed the book closed, the loud _thwack!_ echoing in the small room. "That's perfectly fine, doctor. We don't have to accomplish anything today, I suppose." With the volume still in hand, she strode from the room, the door slamming behind her.

Minori winced at the sound of the door shutting and looked at Marian. "What was that about?"

The doctor shrugged, rolling his eyes and resuming his manicure. "Oh, I suppose I can tell _you._ You see, Angela wants to take over as Guild Master one day when her mother isn't able to work. Don't think for a second that she's organizing files all day or reading books about medical jargon. Oh no. She is secretly studying trade and accounting and all those other boring types of things."

"I had no idea Angela had such high ambitions…"

"Enough about Angela. I haven't finished telling you about my lipstick theories," Marian began, but a knock at the door made him pause. "Who is it?" he called.

Angela poked her head through the door and announced, "Wolffe-san is here. Shall I send him in?"

"Oh! yes, but Angela, be a darling and wait half a minute before you do. I have to preen, you know." As soon as Angela disappeared and the door shut, Marian stood, grabbing Minori's hand and pulling her to her feet. "A handsome knight approaches," he told her, pushing her toward the back of the room. Ignoring her protests, Marian directed her to sit on one of the infirmary beds. The beds, six in total, were separated from the main office area by two wide shelves filled with books and various colored glass bottles.

"Marian, I don't-"

"Shh!" Marian put a finger to his lips in a silencing motion. "I'm doing you a favor, honey," he said, the other hand on his hip. He winked. "So stay put and don't speak."

Minori remained seated, listening to the _click, click_ sound of Marian's heels on the tiled floor as he returned to his desk. She waited, her hands folded in her lap. She then noticed a thin strip of yellow light on the floor in front of her feet. Following its origin, she saw that a narrow crack between between two boards on the back of one of the bookcases allowed her a slender view of the front of the office. She leaned forward, careful not to make the mattress springs squeak, and pressed her face to the crack. She could see the doctor, his back to her. He held a hand mirror and was fussing with his short, pink bob, pulling and pushing stray hairs back into place.

 _Knock, knock._

"Come in-n-n," Marian called in a singsong voice. Minori, still peering through the crack, looked toward the door.

Klaus entered, one hand in the pocket of his trousers, the other swinging loosely by his side. The visible hand, she noticed, was heavily bandaged.

"Uh oh," Marian said, rising from his chair and disappearing from Minori's pane of vision. When he reappeared he carried a small white box with a large red plus sign painted on the lid. From it, he pulled a bottle of iodine and a rag. "Sit, sit, darling. Now what did you do?" The perfumer took the chair that Minori had previously occupied and laid his large hand on the table. Marian lifted his friend's hand and carefully began to unwrap the bandage.

Marian hissed through his teeth at the sight of Klaus's knuckles and announced, "This is infected." He picked up the bottle of iodine and pointed it at Klaus. "Well? What did you do?"

Klaus's eyes were trained on the window pane, leery of meeting the doctor's. "Marian, I was thinking about my father and-"

"Let me stop you right there," Marian said, slamming the bottle of iodine down, which caused Minori to jump, the springs of the bed emitting a slight squeak. Klaus immediately turned his attention toward the sound but Marian grabbed the perfumer's chin, directing his friend's gaze back to himself. "That man had the spine of a sponge. He was a coward! I know what he did your mother and you and I, for one, won't-"

"Marian, please." Klaus laid his uninjured hand on Marian's thin shoulder and squeezed. "It's been twenty years. If I can forgive him, surely the same can be said of you?"

With a heavy sigh, Marian shut his eyes and tilted his head sideways, laying his cheek on top of Klaus's hand. "You're right. You're a wise, foolish, senile old man." He shrugged away Klaus's hand and stoppered the iodine bottle with a rag before turning it over. With the soaked rag, he began to clean the cuts across the back of the perfumer's knuckles, stopping occasionally to pluck small pieces of bark from the sound with a pair of thin, sharp tweezers.

Klaus smiled, his eyes fixed on the window behind his friend's head. "Careful of calling me old, my friend. I do recall you by my side on the day we graduated school."

"I'll cut your damn tongue out!" Marian shrieked. From his medical bag, he retrieved a small tube of numbing cream which he brandished at Klaus, like a knife. Klaus, without turning his head, looked at Marian, a smile playing over his lips. "You keep that to yourself," Marian continued. "You may not have a line on your face but this type of perfection requires a little more work." He turned the tube on himself, motioning to his heavily made-up face."

From her hiding spot, Minori had to suppress a giggle. Something about the camaraderie between the two men made her heart skip a beat. In particular, Klaus's lighthearted teasing and kind smile created an ache in her chest which she recognized as a _desire_ for his attention.

From a slender kit inside the box, Marian produced a needle and thread. "Oh, darling, you're going to need stitches, and quite frankly after the age quip, I don't feel the least bit bad for you." With the numbing paste applied to his patient's skin, he threaded the thick needle. "Now, your little friend came by this morning," Marian commented offhandedly, his head bent over his work.

Though he made no verbal response, Minori saw the perfumer's eyebrow raise. With her breath bated, she waited to hear her name.

"Mmmhm. Your little friend, Minori." Through the crack in the bookcase, Minori could see the needle dipping up and down as the doctor skillfully sutured the cuts. "She's an absolute doll, you know."

Klaus rubbed his chin with his free hand, his golden eyes again fixed on something beyond the window pane. "Yes, she is a very talented young woman," he commented, appearing to be deep in thought. Several minutes passed in silence and Minori began to grow impatient. She was waiting for Marian to speak, to draw more details from his friend. The doctor, unbeknownst to Minori, could read his old friend like an open book; he knew Klaus had something on his mind, though as he'd learned in the past, prodding seemed to only make the perfumer quieter.

"I warned her about...about men like…" He cleared his throat, brows coming together in a frown. "About men like me."

Minori frowned, not understanding. _What kind of man did Klaus_ used _to be?_ She thought back to the warning he'd given her in the forest but could devine no clue as to his past. In all honesty, when she'd described the evening in her journal, she'd been much more focused on detailing the warmth of his body so near hers and the feeling of his teeth on her earlobe.

Marian was admiring his handiwork, intentionally taking no notice of Klaus's discomfort. "You mean, of course, men like you _used_ to be," he corrected. The wound was again cleaned with the iodine soaked rag.

A self-deprecating smile spread across the perfumer's lips. Marian lifted his purple eyes, studying his friend through a fringe of long, mascara-coated eyelashes. "Listen, dear, you've punished yourself far more than has been necessary. You are a protector now, not a predator."

"If you could have been inside my head that night, you would not have thought so," Klaus muttered under his breath.

Marian had begun to wrap the stitched wound with clean gauze. Though he'd clearly heard Klaus's reply, he made no comment. The good doctor was trying not to smile as he thought, _I know you too well, old man. You have quite the crush!_ With the wrapping secured, he leaned back in his chair and, with a pout, said, "In repayment for the free doctor's visit, you can tell me why you're beating yourself up over this. You think of Iris as just a good friend but I've _never_ seen you so guilt-stricken over _her._ "

As Klaus flexed his bandaged hand and collected his thoughts, Minori's mind was scattered. Her face was pressed against the bookshelf, every cell of her being focused on the perfume maker's words. She watched as he aggressively rubbed his face with his un-bandaged hand. "Dammit, Marian, she's beautiful." Minori's heart began to vigorously pound.

"And?" Marian unconsciously asked, remembering only after the words had left his mouth that Klaus didn't respond well to prodding.

"And I will protect her honor as her brother, just as I said before." He stood and adjusted his coat. "Dinner at my place on Saturday evening, Marian? I have a lovely bottle of Chianti from the city." With that, he turned on his heels and strode from the room before Marian could protest. Klaus knew that he had to think of the pretty farmer in as platonic a way as possible...or else.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter Eleven

 _Winter, Year One_

The perfumer's intentions were tested on the following day. In a fervor, he'd paced the length of his study for the entirety of the night. The perfume sample he'd delivered to a client was a success and, once the client had spread the word of Mr. Wolffe's newest scent, an order for several large samples had been placed.

Without being boastful, Klaus was proud of his skill as a perfumer however to create this particular combination of scents required more than a deft hand and heightened sense of smell. The perfume required inspiration and even with the instructions carefully written down with each drop accounted for, Klaus had been unable to recreate the original scent. He sensed that his failure was directly related to the turmoil he'd felt since yesterday's meeting with Marian when her name had been brought up.

However, when dawn broke and sunlight streamed through the kitchen window, his incompetency became less about senses and hidden romance, and more about being very hungry. _Base needs,_ he'd thought as he started off for the town's restaurant. _All I need is a solid meal; some bouillabaisse, perhaps._

[...]

"Hello? Raeger?"

When Raeger heard the restaurant door open and the tinkle of the little bell above, he dared to hope that Minori's soft voice would call for him from the bottom of the stairs. Instead, the voice was surprisingly deep, each syllable perfectly enunciated. _Klaus?_ Raeger tossed the cookbook he'd been perusing onto his bed and started down the stairwell.

"The restaurant is closed," Raeger said when Klaus came into view. The older man was neatly dressed, his lapels and collar impeccable, though the heavy bags beneath his eyes betrayed his tidy appearance.

"My apologies but would you consider making an exception this morning?"

Raeger hesitated. Ever since Minori had pointedly asked him about Klaus several weeks before, Raeger had begun to notice a budding sense of annoyance at the mere mention of the man. Seeing him in person caused the bud to blossom into a heavy feeling, not unlike jealousy. After half a minute's pause, he said, "Sure, that's fine. The usual?" He struggled to maintain a smile as he passed Klaus and stood behind the counter-top. He turned a knob on the stove and listened to the _click, click_ of the gas before it caught fire.

"Yes. Please," Klaus answered. He wearily took a seat at the far end of the bar, his arms resting on the counter-top. Neither man said a word and the tension in the room was almost tangible. Both might have allowed the deafening quiet to continue to mar the restaurant's atmosphere had they not heard a familiar laugh from outside the window.

Minori stood several yards from the window, Marian at her side. Marian's head was thrown back in fervent laughter and Minori's face was flushed with mirth, a delicate pink stain spread over her cheeks.

"She's very pretty," Raeger commented, his eyes on the pot of soup before him. When Klaus made no response he coolly added, "Or haven't you noticed?"

"Yes, I have noticed. She is a pretty young woman. The town boasts of them."

Raeger ladled several spoonfuls of the seafood soup into a large bowl and set it in front of Klaus. "If I'm understanding you, sir, you're saying there are plenty of pretty women in the town."

"I am." Klaus folded his napkin over his lap and picked up a spoon. He suspected Raeger was attempting to bait him into admitting that he had feelings for Minori. _Perhaps this is a childish attempt to establish a rivalry between the two of us for the fair maiden's affections,_ Klaus thought.

"Then you're implying that Minori is no different than the rest of them." Raeger crossed his arms over his chest, watching as Klaus patiently blew on the hot liquid and sipped from the spoon.

"Is she?" Klaus asked. He sensed a slight aura of aggression emanating from the younger man so he laid his spoon aside and folded his hands together in front of his face, his elbows resting on the table. Though Raeger was standing in front of him, the two men were at eye-level. "What exactly would you _like_ me to say?"

"You're not as old as you pretend to be," Raeger, despite his even-tempered nature, was not affronted by Klaus's height. "Surely some part of you must have noticed her in all of your dealings together. She asked about _you_ but I guess I can assume that you're unaffected by that."

From within, Klaus felt a perk of interest and a pulse of anxiety, though his exterior revealed nothing of his curiosity. _She asked about me?_ "There is no fathomable reason that I can think of for her to mention me, Raeger."

Before replying, Raeger's eyes shifted to the window. He watched as Minori parted company with Marian and turned toward the restaurant. "So you wouldn't mind if I courted her?"

"If she will have you and if you prove to be deserving of her affections, then I wish you both only happiness." From his coat pocket he withdrew several folded bills which he laid beside his mostly uneaten soup. Klaus offered a slight bow to Raeger before leaving the restaurant.

When the door had closed securely behind him, the perfumer exhaled deeply. Since the death of his father and Klaus's subsequent metamorphosis, he'd mastered the art of self-denial, a practice that he'd found little difficulty in achieving. His most recent application had been his most difficult to date: to both deny any interest in Minori and to step aside for another man had almost broken the spell of self-sacrifice.

In such a confused state of mind, he hadn't noticed the small figure standing before him, watching as the perfumer remained motionless, eyes shut. He stood directly in her pathway.

"Klaus-san?"

Klaus opened his eyes, surprised at the sight of the worried look on the little farmer's face. Intentionally, he laughed aloud to dismiss her concerns and said, "My apologies, Minori. I must have been lost in thought. What brings you to town so early this morning?"

Minori's face brightened at the sound of his laughter. After she had parted from Marian, Minori had turned toward Raeger's restaurant. Despite the fact that he wouldn't officially open until much later in the morning, he'd given her to understand that she could visit him whenever she liked. When she rounded the corner of the building, however, she'd seen Klaus standing motionless on the top step, positioned directly in front of the door. Though curious, her concern had not been stirred until, after approaching him, the snow crunching loudly beneath her boots, he still hadn't taken notice of her presence. So, to hear him laugh flooded her with relief.

"I missed Madam Eda more than usual so I thought I'd come to town." Both hands were clasped around the handle of her wicker basket and she absentmindedly dragged the toe of her boot through the snow.

Klaus looked toward the eastern sky and said, "Given the time, I'm now concerned that you are never at rest."

"I could say the same of you, Klaus-san!" The purple bags beneath his eyes had not escaped her noticed.

"Sassy girl." A smile spread over his lips. Neither Raeger's question nor Minori's intended direction had slipped his mind. Impulsively, Klaus held his hand out to Minori and said, "Come with me."

As Minori met his eyes, she couldn't help but flush. Bordered by a fringe of jet black eyelashes, his golden eyes were in sharp contrast to his pale skin which was made lighter by the low temperature. His eyes never left her face, though hers flitted between his and taking in the pale coral color of his mouth. To her, he seemed made of wax and perfectly formed.

"Where?" She felt breathless.

Without hesitation, he replied, "Farmers fish during the winter, yes? Teach me to fish and I will teach you to dance."

A bright smile leaped across her face and she laid her hand in his. "I would be happy to."

With the recent depart of his inspiration, Klaus had reverted to momentary self-indulgence: though he could never completely dissuade his altruistic tendencies, he realized that he'd now selfishly indulged both his desire to keep her from Raeger and to have her attentions solely to himself. _What is happening to me?_ he thought as the two friends, with Pinot trotting closely behind, walked northward.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter Twelve

 _Winter, Year One_

"Minori, is there no bait?" Klaus held the fishing line just above the hook, watching as it swung slowly back and forth.

With a smile, Minori knelt on the ground behind him and began to search through her basket. After several seconds, she held up a small pouch. "Bait!" she announced and triumphantly walked to the end of the dock, where she tossed the contents of the bag into the gray water.

Klaus looked over the edge of the dock, the hook still in his hand. Suspended atop the water were small, bright flecks of fish food. The flecks, small and opaque, reflected the sunlight and appeared to sparkle. Beneath the calm surface of the water, he could see several silver colored fish already nipping at the bait. Klaus cast the line into the water and, following Minori's lead, sat on the end of the dock, his long legs dangling over the water. The tiny farmer next to him was kicking her feet, her fishing line also cast, the bobber floating near his.

A minute of awkward silence passed between the two before Minori asked, "Have you fished before, Klaus-san?"

"Of course, though it has been many years since," he replied, his eyes focused on the red and white float. He felt determined to not reveal himself as a novice fisherman, given that Minori, he recalled, had won "Most Fish Caught" during her _first_ fishing tournament in Oak Tree Town. _Do not catch a boot. Anything but a dirty old boot,_ he thought, his eyebrows unconsciously knitted together.

He could remember himself, eleven years of age and home for summer break, standing on the same dock where he now sat with Minori. Under the pretense of fishing, he'd come there to smoke cigarettes, a habit he'd learned at boarding school when watching the older boys smoke cigarettes in the community bathrooms. Because the river ran behind Madam Eda's farm, far from the center of town, Klaus felt certain that he would not be caught and, as it turned out, he was right. As an adult he'd come to realize that his eleven-year-old self had hoped to be caught for the sake of receiving attention from his father who had reluctantly allowed him to return home for the break.

The sound of Minori's laughter startled him and Klaus, with a look of utter confusion and surprise painted over his face, turned his attention to his much younger companion.

Minori attempted to stifle another laugh, one hand clamped over her mouth. When she had regained her composure she said, "I'm sorry to laugh at you, Klaus-san but I've never seen you _so_ focused. Not even when you're working on a perfume!"

Klaus looked from her face to the fishing bobber floating carelessly in the water. From the sweet way she smelled to the chiming sound of her laughter, reminded Klaus of sunlight. Almost a year had passed since their initial meeting and without any insight into his past, she'd come to possess an uncanny ability to draw him from even the darkest depths of his memory, like a lighthouse in a dense fog. He couldn't help but smile at how clueless she was as to her effects on his moods. "Yes, well, I fear that it has been many, _many_ years since I last fished. I would hate to shame myself in front of so accomplished a fisherman," he replied, turning the conversation from himself to her.

Minori smiled, a light blush crossing her cheeks. She felt pleased by his compliment but strangely weakened by the warmth of his smile. To hide the awkwardness of her feelings, she pretended to be absorbed in the reel of her fishing pole.

Klaus looked at her, still smiling. Because of her stature, her boots hunt several feet above the surface of the water. She kicked her feet absentmindedly, her voluminous skirts carefully arranged beneath her to avoid the sting of touching her bare skin to the cold wood of the dock. The air was still and clear, the only movement coming from the water that lapped at the poles of the dock. As he watched, a thick piece of long blonde hair slipped from her low ponytail and hung around her face, like a curtain. Without hesitation, Klaus reached out and gently tucked the piece of hair behind her ear, the back of his fingers grazing her cheek.

The blush across her face deepened in color, though she didn't look at him. Sensing what he believed to be her discomfort, Klaus attempted to remedy his boldness by asking, "Do you merely watch for the bobber to...er...bob?"

Minori swallowed her nerves and lifted her chin, her face brightening. "Actually, you can fish with your eyes close if you really want to!" Noting the look of confusion on his face, she continued, "I pay close attention to the vibrations of the pole. Here, let me show you."

With a practiced jerk of her wrist, Minori reeled in her line and laid her fishing pole on the dock next to her. She scooted closer to Klaus, careful to avoid touching the icy dock. Once seated next to him, her momentary confidence gave way to a creeping sense of nervous awareness: he, in his heavy dark clothing, seemed to loom over her small figure and she was again aware of how very tall and broad-chested the older man was. The feeling of his golden eyes trained on her was unnerving, yet exciting and, taking a deep breath, Minori reached across his lap and covered his large hands with her much smaller ones, tightening his grip on the fishing pole. Despite the cold weather, he noticed that her hands were surprising warm.

"When a fish grabs your hook, you'll feel the slightest tug but don't reel in your line just yet," Minori instructed, resting her arms across his thighs and turning her face toward Klaus's. "Wait for the second tug because that means the fish is stuck."

Klaus had barely heard a word that she spoke. With the pressure of her arms across his thighs and her hands wrapped over his, all interest in fishing had been lost. He swallowed with difficulty, taken by the color of her eyes which, when she'd looked upward at him, had been caught by a ray of pale, wintry sunlight. Buried deep in the green of her irises, he could see flecks of gold that perfectly matched the color of her flaxen hair.

Overtaken by her beauty, Klaus released his grip on the fishing pole and slid his right hand from beneath hers. Without giving thought to consequence, he took hold of her face, his palm resting against her small jaw, the tips of his fingers intertwined in the hair at the nape of her neck. His eyes flickered between hers and the pale pink color of her mouth.

Minori blushed, dizzied by the rush of blood to her face. Klaus's face was no more than six inches from hers, near enough for her to feel the warmth of his breath. From that distance, she believed he could hear the pounding of her heart and the ragged shallowness of her breathing. _Kiss me,_ she thought, too modest to speak the words aloud. _You want to. I can tell._

"May I?" he asked, stroking her bottom lip with his thumb.

 _A gentleman to a fault,_ she thought, nodding her head. Klaus leaned toward her, his eyes closing as he did.

"Yo, Minori! Klaus! Wait, you're fishing? You should've invited me!"

Klaus immediately pulled away, his pale face reddening. Surprised, Minori blinked and looked behind them. Fritz, his hands on his hips and a fishing pole clasped in his left hand, was standing several yards away, a frown etched across his dirt smudged face.

Without a word, Klaus shifted away from Minori, who released her grip on his hand, and drew in the fishing line. Minori watched as the older man stood, the fishing pole abandoned on the dock. Without making eye contact, the perfumer bowed to her, thanking her for a lovely afternoon. Before she could reply, Klaus had turned and was walking away with his hands in his pockets, his long strides carrying him quickly from her sight.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

 _Winter, Year One_

"Pray tell, Minori, what exactly is wrong with you?"

Minori looked up from her bowl of tomato soup. Since it's delivery, she had been absentmindedly stirring the soup, creating tiny divots in the red tomato-flavored sea with her spoon. Now, the mixture sat thick and cold in front of her, and had begun to congeal along the side of the bowl in a rust-colored crust.

"I'm sorry, Raeger." Minori straightened and pushed the untasted soup toward the chef. "Nothing is wrong with me. I'm just not hungry this afternoon."

"But you're _always_ hungry," he replied, plucking the bowl from the counter and raking its contents into a nearby trash bin before dropping the bowl and spoon into a sink of hot, soapy water. "And you're _usually_ happy. I don't have to be a detective to figure out that something is wrong with you."

With her face turned toward the door, Minori cast a sideways glance at Raeger and frowned as she replied, "Seriously, I'm _fine_ and now, I'm leaving _._ " She removed a small purse from the folds of her apron and began counting coins, stacking them in a neat pile on the counter-top.

Minori closed her purse with one hand, the clasps making a loud snapping sound. She hopped from the stool and paused to adjust her skirts.

"Well, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to but I believe you'll feel much better if you do," Raeger replied. The tone of his voice and his eyebrows, tightly knitted together, conveyed his concern for his small companion. Ignoring the pyramid of coins and Minori's deliberate attempt to leave, Reager walked around the counter-top and stood between Minori and the door.

"Raeger," Minori warned, avoiding eye contact as she attempted to step past him.

"Wait," he called, laying both hands on her shoulders and holding her at arm's length in front of him. "One thing before you go."

She shifted her eyes from the door to his face, drawing in a silent breath: he'd bent forward, a serious expression on his face, which he'd positioned several inches from hers. Raeger, she now noticed, had a light sprinkle of pale freckles across the bridge of his nose. In following the trail of freckles, she met his eyes, which were steadfastly focused on hers.

He'd opened his mouth to speak but instead had averted his eyes and pensively bit his bottom lip, causing Minori to inadvertently drop her gaze to his mouth and the line of straight, white teeth chewing thoughtfully on the peach-colored flesh of his lips. She forcefully swallowed, aware of a strange and sudden urge to grip his face in both of her hands and press her mouth against his. _Kissing him would be so easy,_ she thought, lifting her hand to his cheek and pressing her fingertips into the mass of light auburn curls behind his ear.

Instead of acting, however, Minori hesitated, her hand returning to her side. She lifted her gaze from his lips to his eyes. Raeger, she saw, with mild horror, was watching her.

Raeger's initial intention had been to hold her, to assure her of his concerns but when he had held her in front of him, he'd wavered, suddenly fearful of pressuring her to share her personal feelings. His hesitation had an unforeseen, though pleasing, consequence: when Raeger again looked to her face, he was surprised to see Minori's eyes fixated on his mouth. He watched as she swallowed, her lips slightly parted, breath held.

 _She wants to kiss me._ Raeger endeavored to remain perfectly immobile, concerned that even the slightest of movements might dissuade Minori from kissing him. He momentarily faltered at the electric sensation that rang through-out his body when he felt her palm against his cheek and the gentle pull of her fingers as they entwined in his hair. Then, to his immense dissatisfaction, he watched as a shadow of hesitation crossed her face and she removed her hand from his cheek.

Raeger knew that when their eyes met, she would learn that he had seen and understood her thoughts so, before that could happen, he elected to speak first: "Minori," he began, returning the momentary look of horror that passed over her face with a smile and the squeeze of her shoulders. "As I was trying to stay before-" he stopped short, seemingly confused. "Wait, have you seriously always been _this_ short?" He, again, held her at arm's length, examining her stature.

Minori's mouth initially opened in surprise and anger but, upon seeing the twinge of a smile that threatened the corners of the chef's lips, she erupted in peals of laughter, relieved to have avoided the awkwardness of the moments prior.

"There, a smile," Raeger said, hands still on her shoulders as he led her to a nearby table. Minori accepted his invitation to sit, still chuckling as she wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes.

Raeger selected the seat opposite her, his back to the countertop. "You see?" he asked, once her laughter had subsided. "You have a cheerful disposition. You have to actually _try_ to be upset."

"I _am_ upset though," Minori quietly told him, her smile again replaced by a frown. She spun around in her chair so that, like her partner, her back was to the countertop. Both now faced the restaurant's large, picture window. The glass, framed by a set of faded white and green checked curtains, looked westward. The Guild lay directly beyond the window pane and, amidst silence, the two friends watched as visitors came and went, some entering the Inn, others hurriedly retreating toward the Town Square. Their haste, Minori now recalled, was because the weather-girl, Lillie, had predicted that around dusk, a fresh blanket of snow would settle over Oak Tree Town.

"Listen, Raeger, can you keep a secret?" Minori asked, her eyes still trained on the unfamiliar faces outside the window.

Feigning hurt in an effort to mask his curiosity, Raeger scowled and looked toward his companion. "Do you really doubt that _I_ can keep a secret?"

"You _do_ share your supposedly secret family recipes," Minori teased and, though she smiled, her knitted eyebrows betrayed her pensivity. She sighed aloud and, despite the knowledge that the restaurant was empty save for the two of them, she spoke in a quick and hushed voice, " _Klaus tried to kiss me._ "

Raeger made no immediately reply. The idea that Klaus and Minori might have a preference for each other had not occurred to Raeger until, several weeks prior, Minori had offhandedly asked him a question about Klaus. Concentrating, he now turned his thoughts to the conversation he'd had with the older man a few days earlier. At the time, Raeger had not fastidiously questioned Klaus with the intent of goading him into admitting an interest in Minori; rather, Raeger had merely wanted a clear understanding of the relationship between the farmer and perfumer. Klaus, he recalled, had indicated that he had no romantic interest in Minori.

Unaware that Minori's eyes were trained on him, Raeger frowned, his sea-colored eyes hazy and unfocused. He considered again Klaus's resigned attitude when he'd shown up outside of restaurant hours. Klaus had wished him well in his pursuit of Minori, which, at the time, had convinced Raeger that the farmer and perfumer's relationship was platonic and he was free to pursue Minori without the concern of another man's involvement. _Apparently I was mistaken,_ Raeger thought, absently running his hands through his hair.

"What do you mean by _tried?"_ he asked, after several moments of silence.

"Fritz interrupted," Minori replied, with a shrug.

 _Bless him,_ he thought before asking, "Are you disappointed? Is that why are you're upset?" He braced himself for her answer, wanting to appear unaffected by whatever response she would give.

"Well, I'm afraid it would have made things...weird." Minori's eyebrows were drawn together in concern and confusion. "Besides, that was _three_ days ago and I haven't seen him since." Without waiting for a reply, she continued, the pitch of her voice raised in exasperation, "One minute we're friends, the next, he's hiding in his house and barely speaks two words to me!"

Unbeknownst to Raeger, Minori was specifically referring to the day prior when, after politely knocking on the door of Klaus's home and waiting patiently for admittance, she'd been surprised to hear to hear his muffled voice from the other side of the closed door, saying, "I'm very busy with work right now. Could you come back later?"

Raeger, without warning, decidedly stood and took Minori's hand, pulling her to her feet; the chair that she'd been sitting on tipped to the floor with a loud _crack!_ He pressed her small frame to his chest, stroking her hair. "You can't let his aloofness bother you, Minori. Klaus has always been like that."

Minori's faced flushed, and she felt dizzy from the rush of blood to her head. Given their differences in height, she stood eye-level to his chest, the top of her head tucked beneath his chin. With her ear pressed to his chest, she could hear the rhythmic echoing _thump-thump_ of his heart. The muscles taut beneath her cheek, she noticed, felt firm, despite the nature of his occupation. Minori took a deep breath and, in inhaling his scent, could discern the sweet notes of vanilla and cloves. She contentedly closed her eyes and took a firm hold of the front of his vest, drawing herself closer to his body.

The sharp clink of the bell suspended above the door came as an unwelcome interruption and the two quickly stepped away from each other, a mottled blush spread across both of their faces.

"Hi, Raeger! Hi, Minori! I'm _so_ glad you're here!" the high-pitched voice of Lillie, the weather girl, called out. Following closely behind was Melanie who, upon spotting Raeger, ran toward him, the blue ribbon in her hair bouncing wildly.

"Raeger! We need your help!" Melanie excitedly grabbed Raeger's apron, tugging him toward the door.

"Okay, okay," Raeger said, taking her tiny hand in his and allowing himself to be led. "But where are we going?"

Meanwhile, Lillie had approached Minori and, linking arms with her, steered the farmer toward the door. "We need you both to go with us to air out of a room."

"Air out...a room?" Minori asked, surprised. She cast a confused and curious glance at Raeger.

"It's the guest bedroom at the top of the stairs. Melanie and I think the room might be-" Lillie began, but Melanie, cutting off her sister, finished with, " _Haunted!_ "


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter Fourteen

 _Winter, Year One_

From the top of the balcony, the closed door of the "haunted" room looked no different than the rest lined up down the hallway. Had Lillie and Melanie not been cowering behind Minori and Raeger, Minori might have assumed this was a practical joke. The goosebumps visible along Lillie's arms and the tears welling in Melanie's wide eyes spoke differently.

Raeger and Minori exchanged a puzzled glance before Raeger reached forward and turned the doorknob, allowing the door to slowly swing open with a long, drawn-out creaking sound. The four peered into the room, though with the heavy floral curtains tightly drawn and the sun setting in the west, the room was pitch black. Only the foot of the bed was visible, illuminated by a long rectangular-shaped stretch of light cast by the hallway lamps.

Unaffected, Raeger reached for the light switch, flicking it back and forth though no light came on.

"See? Haunted!" Melanie shrieked, clutching at her pale face with her two small hands.

"It's not haunted," Raeger corrected, his voice calm. "It's a faulty switch. Lillie, do you have a candle?"

"Y-yes," Lillie said, darting down the stairs to retrieve the light. As she was climbing the stairs toward them, a fat white candle in her hand, she said, "Maybe we should wait until tomorrow when there's lots of light outside. I forgot how quickly it gets dark in the winter!"

"We can't!" Melanie, who had momentarily taken Raeger's hand when her sister descended the staircase, now clutched at her Lillie's skirt. "I can't sleep knowing there's a ghost in _our_ hotel! What if it comes after us when we're asleep? Papa says ghosts can do that, ya know!"

"First," Raeger said, taking the candle from Lillie, "there is no ghost. Second, your father is just trying to scare you both. Third, if there is a ghost-" he ignored Melanie and Lillie's gasps of terror, "-he must be a very nice ghost because he hasn't bothered either of you until now." He lit the candle with a match that Minori had pulled from her basket.

"Oh! You're right, Raeger-kun!" Lillie, with Melanie still clinging to her skirt, wrapped her hands around Raeger's upper arm. "But wait-the ghost _did_ break a vase yesterday!"

Before the chef could open his mouth to reply, Melanie announced, "I bet it's Old Man Nickolaus come back from his grave!" She raised her hands, tiny fingers curled, imitating a pair of claws.

"W-who is Old Man Nickolaus?" Minori asked, confused. After a year of living alone in the remote mountains, she wasn't afraid of the dark but she found the sisters' fears to be contagious.

"I don't know but Papa says he's probably back because Klaus-san is smiling again!"

At the sound of Klaus's name, Minori felt a spasm of interest in her chest but before she could question the child any further, the sharp sound of shattering glass rang out, interrupting Minori's oncoming interrogation. At the sound, Lillie released Raeger's arm and hid behind him, her little sister buried deep within her skirt, only her blue eyes visible between the yellow folds.

The four remained frozen on the second floor landing, each staring intently into the dark room. When no other sound was heard, Raeger turned to Lillie and Melanie and said, "Why don't you two wait downstairs? Me and Minori are going to check it out."

Frightened, Lillie nodded and ushered her sister down the steps, both nervously glancing back at Raeger and Minori until, in reaching the foot of the staircase, the wall that divided the stairs from the lobby hid the sisters from sight.

"Shall we?" Raeger asked, smiling. He offered his arm to Minori, who accepted it and with arms linked, Raeger and Minori crossed the door's threshold and waited as their eyes adjusted to the dark.

"It's freezing in here," Minori murmured, shivering. Raeger nodded and slid an arm around Minori's shoulders, drawing her close to his side. Momentary embarrassment made Minori briefly forget the circumstances of their visit, her attentions focused the feeling of her friend's solid body against hers, his warmth washing over her. An audible gasp from the man next to her jerked her back into reality.

The candle, held high in Raeger's right hand, allowed several feet of visibility and Minori could immediately see that the room was in disarray: the bottom-right square of glass in the window pane was cracked, seemingly responsible for the room's low temperature; the floral duvet cover was shredded; a vase lay splintered on the floor by an overturned chair that belonged to a small table in the corner of the room; in the center of a sizable rug lay several large and jagged pieces of glass that, upon lifting her eyes to the ceiling, Minori saw, belonged to a shattered light bulb, still stuck in the socket.

"What happened here?" Raeger whispered, his arm rotating slowly, the candle's ebbing light casting deformed shadows on the walls. A loud _thump!_ caused the two to start, both remaining motionless in the center of the room. After several minutes' pause, when no other sound was heard, Raeger let out a nervous laugh and lightly squeezed Minori's shoulder, though the friends' relief was to be short-lived.

At the inception of a series of rapid _thump! thump! thump!_ sounds, Minori wrapped her arms tightly around Raeger's torso, her eyes squeezed shut. Raeger drew her closer to his side, wildly brandishing the light in an attempt to locate the source of the noise.

"There!" he called, and Minori opened one eye. Beneath the window, illuminated by the candle, was an overturned waste bin. The bin was animated, repeatedly bumping furiously into the wall with a loud _thump! thump!_ sound. Raeger released his hold on Minori's shoulders and walked to the container. He stood the candle on the window's ledge and placed a hand on opposite sides of the receptacle, holding it still. From within, a muffled _thump! thump!_ continued. Raeger looked up at Minori, who stood a number of feet away.

"On the count of three?" he asked, kneeling.

Nervously gripping her apron with both hands, eyes widened in fear, Minori nodded.

"One, two...three!" With one swift and precise movement, Raeger lifted the waste bin with both hands and leaped to his feet, taking several brisk steps backward. In place of the bucket sat a fat and frightened red raccoon. The raccoon, in adjusting his eyes to the candlelight, blinked rapidly and looked from Raeger to Minori. At the sight of the farmer, he chirped and bounded toward her.

"Friend of yours?" Raeger asked with evident relief, pushing his bangs away from his damp forehead with the sleeve of his shirt. With his back against the wall, Raeger slid into a sitting position on the floor, the waste bin still tightly clutched in both hands.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter Fifteen

 _Winter, Year One_

"Does it have a name?" Raeger asked, watching as Minori allowed the raccoon to jump from her arms to the ground, where, with a happy chirp, it quickly disappeared into the hollowed-out trunk of a fallen tree.

"Reggie: short for Reginald" she said, clasping her hands behind her back and letting out an audible sigh of relief. The discovery of Reggie and the subsequent introduction of the raccoon to the sisters had led to much cooing and coddling of the creature. At the most propitious lull in conversation, Minori and Raeger had issued quick goodbyes to the girls, citing the raccoon's probable hunger as the reason for their abrupt exit. In truth, neither Raeger nor Minori were keen to witness Lillie's reaction to the state in which Reggie had left the guest room. Now, with a fair amount of distance between themselves and the hotel, the two stood near the entrance to the tall crop field, the bitter smell of gentians in the air.

"Listen, Raeger," Minori began, her voice hardly above a whisper. "Thank you for, you know, holding me back there. I...I was pretty scared." She cast her eyes downward, the color of her cheeks darkening as she recalled how tightly she had wrapped her arms around the chef.

"Pretty scared? You were a flight risk," Raeger replied with a shrug. "I had to do something."

Minori lifted her eyes, a frown etched across her face. She rested one hand on her hip, her stance cocked. With an easy laugh and a wink, Raeger put an arm around her shoulders and turned her toward the road. The air was cold, the wind biting, and Minori stepped closer to her friend, glad for the warmth of his body.

According to their posture: the two walking closely together with her tucked beneath his arm, she imagined that, if someone saw them, they might be viewed as a couple. But would he see it that way? And would I? she thought, eyebrows knitted together. Given the evening's entertainments, Minori was now aware of a closeness to Raeger that she hadn't felt before, propagated, she thought, by his bravery at the hotel. She couldn't be certain of her feelings, however, given their novelty and, as she'd begun to feel awkward under the implications of her thoughts, she cleared her throat and asked, "So, how do you suppose Reggie found his way into the hotel room?"

"Ferreting about, I guess."

Minori leaned her head backwards, her lips pressed together in a smile, her laughter stifled. "Raeger, he's a raccoon, not a ferret."

Raeger rolled his eyes and, taking Minori firmly by the hand, pushed her away from him. She spun outward, hand still clasped in his, and, like a yo-yo at the end of a string, came spinning back to him, crashing against his side. He hooked his arm around the front of her shoulders, pretending to suffocate her. "Yes, Minori. He's a raccoon, and you are a pain."

Wiggling, Minori managed to free herself from his grasp. She gave Raeger a firm push in retaliation and, in a teasing tone, said, "You know, Klaus-san would never say something like that to me." Despite the dark skies and late hour, her cheeks colored at her boldness.

"Oh, you're right. He just wouldn't say anything to you."

Minori's mouth opened in surprise and, to mask her hurt at his joke's implications, she playfully charged at Raeger, fists swinging at his chest.

"Okay, okay," he said, catching her wrists with both hands. "I promise: no more jokes about your boyfriend."

"Fair enough," she replied, sticking her tongue out, her face still flushed.

Raeger returned the gesture, his tongue out. "Now, come here. I'm cold." He again laid an arm around her narrow shoulders, drawing her close to his side. The pair walked the remaining distance in silence, each alone in their muddled thoughts of the other.

At the entrance of her house, Minori slipped from Raeger's grasp to lay a hand on the door handle, the metal ice cold beneath her fingertips. She had no need for a key, as the house was never locked. Before lifting the latch, she took a deep breath and turned toward Raeger, the beginnings of an invitation to stay the night on the tip of her tongue, but was stopped, surprised to feel the weight of his hand on top of hers.

"Hey, Minori," he began, again unconsciously biting his bottom lip, rolling it back and forth between his teeth. "Can...can I share something important with you? It has to stay between us."

"Of course," she replied, lifting her hand from the door. Anticipating his withdrawal, she laced her fingers through his and brought his fist to her cheek, lifting her eyes up to his. "You're freezing, Raeger. Come inside," she said, thoughts of irresolution and impropriety bounding off the walls inside her head. She had begun to blush, watching closely as his eyes drifted from her mouth toward her chest.

"Yes!-I mean, no. No, I'm fine," he stammered, stepping backwards and removing his fingers from hers. He jammed both of his hands into the front pockets of his apron.

Several minutes of silence passed and Minori began to visibly shiver. Raeger, she observed, was also shivering, though he appeared to not notice. She considered taking leave of him to drown her embarrassment at being rejected in a bottle of cheap peach wine, but the tone of his voice, nervous and pleading, as well as her own curiosity caused her hesitate. Raeger seemed as if he had something that he needed to share with her. So, Minori waited patiently, stifling a yawn as her eyes wandered over the frozen ground behind him toward a nearby crop field where several fat stalks of broccoli were visible.

Though close in proximity to Minori, Raeger's thoughts had carried him a million miles from her. His right hand now removed from his pocket, he practiced another unwitting nervous habit by running his hand through his hair and rubbing his head. He considered how easily he had resisted Minori's invitation into her house. Moments before, he'd been picturing a very different scenario: in his mind, Raeger saw himself waiting behind her as she opened the door, his hand on her lower back. She would walk to the kitchen, removing her boots and shawl as she went. From there, she would bring two cups down from the upper cabinet (Does she keep her cups in her upper cabinet? I have no idea, but it seems a logical place. Kathy did. Or was it Karen?) after lighting the stove burner beneath a cheap kettle. He would remove his apron, slinging it over the back of a chair as he walked to her. Before she could protest his advances (and she will try to protest; they always "protest" to preserve their modesty) he would pull her into his arms and kiss her (finally!), secretly extinguishing the burner to prevent distraction, his hands slipping over her, between layers of fabric, searching for buttons and buckles, zippers and laces…

Yet, here I am, he thought, his eyes directed upwards at the glistening, yellow gibbous moon overhead. When she had spoken, he'd allowed his gaze to travel from her small mouth to his own hand, tucked gently against her cheek, to the beautiful hollow visible at the base of her white throat. His mistake had been in again meeting her eyes: large, innocent, and bright, they stared up at him from beneath a fan of black eyelashes. Internally, he'd cowered in front of her purity, his own intentions turned lecherous and disgusting.

He cleared his throat, his voice barely above a whisper, "I...I like someone. Someone that lives in Oak Tree Town and...and I really want to confess to her."

A light bulb, like the flick of a switch, went off in Minori's head. Lillie! she thought, almost snapping her fingers aloud. That must be why he didn't want to come inside! Well, that makes sense. "I already know," she said, the temperature momentarily out of mind.

"Y-you do?" Raeger asked, almost choking. Perhaps I've overestimated her naivety, he thought, swallowing hard. He'd begun to sweat. "H-how? How did you find out?"

"Oh, by how quickly you wanted to help her tonight," Minori replied and before Raeger could respond, she continued, "Oh! Also by the way you let her little sister flirt with you. You know, Melanie thinks you're her boyfriend. Jonas was telling me the other day how upset poor Lutz pretends not to be."

Stunned, Raeger hesitated as he attempted to process Minori's gross misinterpretation of his feelings for Lillie. Affected by his lengthy silence, the confident look on Minori's face had begun to fade into one of confusion.

Raeger raised his hands as if surrendering. "Never mind, Minori. Maybe I won't tell her just yet. Better yet, maybe I'll let her figure it out on her own," Raeger replied, laying a hand on the back of Minori's head and brushing her bangs from her face with his fingertips. He pressed his lips to her forehead, eyes tightly closed. "Goodnight, Minori." With a considerable amount of effort, he released her and turned toward town, waving over his shoulder as he walked.

Confused and somewhat dazed, Minori absently waved back, her hand drifting unconsciously to the spot that he'd kissed.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter Sixteen

 _Winter, Year One_

Pacing from one end of his house to the other, Klaus had begun to chew his lip, unaware of the pain and bitter taste of copper. Marian sat at the perfumer's desk, legs crossed, both feet resting on top of the table. He was examining a pale colored bottle by turning the small vessel back and forth with his long fingers, seemingly amused by the liquid sloshing inside.

An hour before, from the comfort of an over-sized armchair and with a glass of cherry wine, Marian had been languidly recounting an interaction between himself and Giorgio, the town's ostentatious flower farmer. Marian rolled his eyes, a sly smile spreading over his lips as he thought, _Giorgio engaged to a woman? That is what Klaus would call a "facade"._

At that moment, Marian sat upright in his chair, the glass that had been balanced on the chair's arm was overturned, the blood-colored spill ignored. Friends with Klaus since a young age, Marian had felt a compassion and empathy for the dark-headed youth that had morphed into a solid friendship over the years. When Klaus's father was alive and Marian knew his friend to be with him, Marian would refuse to sleep until he'd seen the light in Klaus's bedroom, which the window of his own room directly faced, extinguished. When the light went out, it meant that young Klaus felt safe enough to sleep. Now, as adults, Marian still carried that same heavy sensation of anxiety despite Nickolaus's passing; a burden exacerbated by not speaking to his friend at least once a day. The thought of Klaus's opinion of Giorgio had come, Marian felt, without provocation, since Klaus had never spoken of the florist unless asked. Marian interpreted this intrusion in his thoughts to mean only one thing: something was very wrong with Klaus.

Immediately, Marian removed himself from the chair, tossing a tea towel from his kitchen table on top of the spilled wine. Pulling a fluffy white robe over his night clothes, Marian walked the short distance to Klaus's house and, not bothering to knock or announce his arrival, had barged in the front door.

"Klaus?" he called, shutting the door behind him and moving into the bedroom.

Klaus sat at his desk, his heavy green coat removed, his eyes closed. He was holding a faded and yellowed picture of his father and mother.

The doctor laid a hand on Klaus's broad shoulder, simultaneously taking the photograph from his friend's hand. "This does you no good," Marian said in a gentle voice as he returned the picture to an unused drawer in Klaus's left-hand armoire. "What triggered it this time, Klaus-kun?"

"I tried to kiss Minori," Klaus replied, studying his left hand where the picture had been held.

Marian spoke softly. "That doesn't sound like such a bad thing." He moved to take a seat on the bed but Klaus stood, motioning for his friend to take his chair. Ignoring Marian's protests, Klaus began to pace the room, his arms crossed over his chest, his bottom lip caught firmly between his teeth.

Marian sat, lifting his long legs and setting his feet on the table. _Maybe he's trying to come to terms with falling in love. He's never been in love that I remember and I have an_ excellent _memory,_ Marian thought, aimlessly rifling through several pages of notes penned in Klaus's intricate script. _If he was in his right mind, he'd murder me for putting my shoes where he mixes his perfumes._ With a cursory glance over his shoulder, Marian saw that Klaus was no longer in the bedroom and, judging by the sounds of his footsteps, he believed the perfumer to be in the kitchen, walking in circles around the table. Mischievously, Marian rubbed the soles of his shoes vigorously against the grain of the desk before crossing one foot over the other and resuming his state of relaxation. _Ha! Take that my prudish friend-_

"Feet off, please," Klaus said as he paced back into the bedroom. He walked from the right to the left armoire, to the kitchen and back again, his eyes continually cast downward onto the floor.

"Okay, sweetheart. That is enough." Leaving his feet crossed over the desk, Marian leaned back in the chair and catch Klaus by the sleeve of his white shirt. "Hey, enough pacing. Talk. Tell me what's so wrong about an innocent kiss. And for god's sake, stop chewing on your lip! No one will want to kiss a scabby mouth."

Klaus issued a heavy sigh and with the swipe of his hand, knocked Marian's feet from the table. He leaned against the wall between the bedroom and kitchen, his stare focused on the thick weave of the rug beneath Marian's chair.

In inspecting his friend, Marian could immediately see the effects that Klaus's state of mind was having on his physical appearance: his skin, no longer porcelain, was sallow and his shirt and vest were wrinkled. Beneath his golden eyes were heavy, dark purple bruises.

 _I wonder when the last time he slept was,_ Marian thought, as a prolonged silence fell between the two men. He was tempted to retrieve the little vial of sleeping powders from his practice and slip them into the perfumer's drink. His friend's problems, he believed, were self-orchestrated; the consequence of a fragile and tumultuous upbringing. On the outside, Klaus appeared to be the perfect picture of stately calm in both dress and manners though, as Marian all too well knew, Klaus could, at times, barely stand the sound of his own voice.

In quietude the two remained for the better part of an hour before Marian, with a great yawn, asked, "Please, Klaus, let me give you some sleep medicine. You're no help to yourself when you're this tired and upset."

The sound of the doctor's voice startled Klaus who had forgotten his friend's presence entirely. He'd been studying the light particles of dust that had settled on the window pane, his mind turning rapidly.

"Okay, Marian. You're right," Klaus relented, rubbing the back of his head. "You bring the powders while I suit up for bed." Using his forearms, he pushed himself away the wall and began to dig through the armoire next to him for his night clothes.

"You'd better be here when I get back," Marian warned, narrowing his purple eyes and directing a perfectly pointed, fuchsia colored nail at Klaus. "I will send the town on a hunt for you. Don't think I won't."

"Scout's honor," Klaus replied, looking over his shoulder. For the first time since he'd left Minori's farm hours before, he smiled.

Once Marian had left on his errand, Klaus disrobed, carefully folding his clothes over the back of the chair. He redressed in his night clothes and resumed his position against the wall, allowing himself to sink to the floor where he cupped his head in his hands. Marian, he knew, would shriek and spit at his indolence, but until he'd ingested the powders and had no choice, Klaus couldn't bring himself to lay in bed for sleep. There was still so much to think about and more self-deprecation to be done.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen

 _Winter, Year One_

At the door of the clinic, with key in hand, Marian paused, alarmed by the sounds of voices nearby. Frozen in place, his eyes flickered between the staircase to the ceiling above, where he knew Veronica and Angela resided. The voice spoke again, murmured and distant and Marian realized the noises were coming from outside of the Guild. He remained motionless for several long seconds, anticipating movement from upstairs. When no other sounds were made, except for the voices outside, Marian let out a sigh of relief. _Fevers, blood, sharks, ghosts, ghouls: these are things I can handle. A startled and sleepy Angela? No thank you,_ he told himself as he crept to the window and lifted the curtain to peer out, careful to avoid being seen.

Standing outside the Inn were Raeger and Minori, both waving to Lillie and Melanie. In Minori's arms was something round and shivering. At first glance, Marian believed the farmer to be carrying a baby wrapped in a brown blanket but, once Minori had stepped farther away from the Inn, the moonlight struck the object and Marian saw that the bundle had a long, ringed tail.

As Marian watched, Raeger whispered into Minori's ear, his words causing the two friends to laugh aloud. Marian's eyes were again directed upward at the ceiling, but the house remained silent, the two women seeming not to have been awakened by the sounds.

 _They sleep like the dead!_ Marian thought, returning his attention to the couple outside. Expecting that the two would part ways, Marian was surprised to see Raeger turn northbound with Minori, instead of returning to his restaurant. Foregoing secrecy, Marian pressed his frowning face against the glass. Neither noticed and, ascending the staircase near Otmar's store, vanished from sight.

"What are those two up to…" Marian murmured beneath his breath. He let the curtain fall and returned to the door of the clinic.

From a locked cabinet to the right of the door, he removed a small wooden box. Inside were several small vials of sleeping powders resting on a green cloth. With a deft hand, he measured out an appropriate amount and slipped the bottled powders into the pocket of his robe, taking care to ensure that the box was again safely locked inside the case. He operated like a thief, meaning only to avoid Angela's detection and her intricate inventory checks though, as he recalled, she'd known immediately that he had used several ounces of iodine by simply picking up the bottle. _Like a damn blood-hound! I trained her well,_ he thought, smiling and wiping a fake tear from the corner of his eye.

He turned on his heels, intending to return to Klaus's, when a glint of moonlight caught the silver frame of a picture that rested on his desk. He crossed the room to examine the familiar photograph.

Beneath the glass was a picture of two small boys, one with a head of perfectly coiffed pink curls, the other with a mass of tousled, straight jet-black hair. Their arms were linked and the little fair-haired boy was grinning, his front two teeth missing. The other boy was also smiling, but his eyes were focused on something to his left, away from the camera.

"Hmmm," Marian cooed, brushing the picture's surface with his fingertips. The picture had been taken by his father, he remembered, who'd had a hell of a time convincing little Klaus to focus on the camera. _Not me,_ Marian thought, setting the frame on his desk. _I've never met a camera lens I didn't like and that didn't like me. Klaus on the other hand…he was always smelling something; always had his nose stuck in the air or in a flower._ Marian smiled at the memory as he exited the room, the heavy lock clicking behind him. At the door of the Guild, he hesitated, fingering the vial in his pocket. Along with his friend's youthful face, he'd pictured another that was far less pleasant: Nickolaus.

Marian turned on his heels and strode back to Veronica's desk. Using his palms as leverage, he pulled himself on top of it with a loud exhale of breath. The doctor could clearly envision his friend, alone in the house, haunted and pained. _I'll be lucky if he's even put on his pajamas. And they're nice too-purple silk, hard to find!_ Marian crossed one leg over the other and daintily rearranged his robes. _Well, darling,_ he thought, _consider this an extension because I'm going to wait here until that god-forsaken, handsome chef comes back and I am going to give him a piece of my mind! Poor bastard looked so happy when he left...guess we'll see how happy he is when he returns to_ this _unmade face!_

Marian crossed his arms and focused his gaze on the cobblestone road outside the window, his lips drawn together into a tight, thin frown.


	18. Chapter 18

I don't know that I'm much good at writing drama but I made an attempt with this chapter! Thank you everyone for the favs, follows, and comments. It truly makes me very happy that others enjoy my writing!

-Hito

Chapter Eighteen

 _Spring, Thirty-Eight Years Prior_

Above the rolling cracks of thunder, a thin and strained wail could be heard rising from a bassinet in the corner of the room. Mara Wolffe, with heavy purple bags beneath her eyes, walked gingerly toward her baby, careful of splitting her fresh stitches. Though she had requested his presence at the birth, her husband was away on business and would not return for three more days. That left Mara, exhausted, bleeding, and bruised, to care for the infant, a duty which she knew Nickolaus believed to be no more his responsibility than cooking or cleaning. _He is old-fashioned,_ she thought, in an attempt to comfort herself, _I can be old-fashioned._

Standing above the small body that rocked with every wail, Mara felt a mixture of happiness and guilt. She was happy that the baby was healthy and overjoyed to see the fruit of almost two days' worth of labor. Yet, she felt guilty because she knew that, even at twelve hours old, she already loved her son more than she had ever loved another person, her husband included.

Three days prior, Mara had awoken with the unnerving sensation that someone else was in the room with her. For several minutes, she'd lain immobile, crushed beneath an invisible weight. After the episode had passed, she'd spent several more panicked minutes scanning the dark room with her eyes, waiting for the understanding to dawn on her that, except for herself, the room was completely empty.

Mara, her forehead drenched in sweat, was shivering despite the mild temperature. The blankets wrapped around her hips, she now noticed, were damp; before she could comprehend the reason for this, a sharp pain tore through her lower abdomen. _The baby,_ she'd realized, scrambling for her house coat and shoes. She threw open the door, wandering barefoot toward the doctor's home next to hers. _My gods, I'm having a baby,_ she thought, pounding the door with her palm. _Please, please answer!_ The knock was answered by the doctor's wife, a stylish and charming woman with a head of bright pink hair, her purple eyes heavy with sleep.

"Mara? Is it the baby?" the woman had asked, reaching toward Mara, whose face was white and bloodless.

"Yes. Can you get the doctor, please?" she'd whispered. Another sharp contraction, followed by a wave of nausea, forced her knees to buckle beneath her.

 _The rest is history, my darling,_ she thought, stroking her son's small face. He ceased crying to blearily gaze at her, smacking his lips together. Mara lifted the infant from the crib. _What an easy birth you were. I can expect nothing but kindness from you._

When she had held him for the first time and caught sight of the mat of ebony-colored hair on his head, she'd begun to cry uncontrollably, alarming the new baby. Together, the two sat in the small bed that she shared with Nickolaus, sobbing. The doctor, in returning to check on his patients, had found them both asleep, troubled looks on their faces.

As of yet, the newborn was unnamed. Mara had obeyed her husband's request to wait until he returned home to declare a name. On the morning of Nickolaus's arrival, Mara dressed her baby in blue and attempted to comb his hair. She stood next to the bassinet with the doctor who had the birth certificate in hand.

The heavy door creaked open, swinging into the wall with a loud _thwack!_ Mara jumped and the baby, previously sound asleep, grunted and opened his eyes. Nickolaus draped his coat over the back of a kitchen chair and, with heavy boots scraping slowly the wooden floor, entered the second half of the house.

No amount of preparation could have readied Mara for Nickolaus's reaction to the sight of his infant son. Without speaking to either his wife or the doctor, Nickolaus approached the bassinet and peered into it, his eyes narrowed. Both Mara the doctor tensed against the scrutiny of the man's stare but the baby, at whom the look was directed, seemed unconcerned as he stared back at Nickolaus, neither father nor son blinking.

As he examined his son, Nickolaus pressed his lips together into a thin, white line, his teeth clenched tightly behind them. "This creature," he said, motioning to the baby as he addressed to the doctor, "will not have my family name."

"Nickolaus, come n-now-" Marian's father began, his voice faltering.

Nickolaus grabbed Mara's wrist, jerking her toward him. "Let me tell you something, Doc. This bitch," he continued, a large vein on his forehead standing out, "this...bitch seduced me, got pregnant ON PURPOSE to FORCE ME TO MARRY HER. What was it for, huh? Money? Or were you _just_ a nasty, little slut?" Still gripping her wrist, Nickolaus held Mara to his chest as he began to stroke her hair with his free hand. Frightened and shivering with fear, Mara clenched both of her eyes closed, her breathing raspy and loud.

"Nothing, my darling? Nothing to say?" Nickolaus asked, tightly gripping the roots of her hair in his fingers. "Well, tell the good doctor what you've done. Tell him. Tell him how you single-handedly DESTROYED MY FAMILY LINE WITH THAT UGLY, NASTY HEAD OF BLACK HAIR!" Nickolaus roared, shoving her from him. Mara staggered, falling to the floor in a small, crumpled heap.

 _Don't cry, don't cry,_ she told her son as she waited to hear the boom of her husband's voice or to feel his hands pulling her to her feet. Instead, she only heard the sounds of his retreating footsteps and the _slam!_ of the door as it swung closed behind him.

A prolonged silence, like a thick and sticky spider web, held the two remaining adults to their positions, neither able to speak. The baby, seemingly unaware of his tense surroundings and unhappy environment, began to squirm and gurgle, his eyes trained on Mara. Even during his father's outburst, the child hadn't so much as cried out, much to the relief of his mother.

"Klaus. His name is Klaus," Mara said, breaking the silence. She returned to her position beside the bassinet, looking up at the doctor as she stroked her child's head. "Yes, his name is Klaus Wolffe."

"Why Klaus?" The doctor replied, writing the name on the sheet of paper in his hands.

"It means 'victory of the people,'" she explained, taking the baby in her arms to rock him back and forth. "Hello, Klaus." The small human in her arms gave a great, gummy yawn and blinked sleepily at her. "He may try to discredit and deny you all he wants but he will _never_ be able to deny those golden eyes."


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter Nineteen

 _Winter, Year One_

In the letter to his son, Nickolaus had described Klaus as "a child both regrettable and unfortunate". The letter, begun soon after Klaus's birth, went on to chronicle each disappointment felt by the father at the hands of his son. The letter's content was disparaging and sinister, and unsparing in criticism. Nickolaus even detailed Mara's death, which he attributed to her inability to cope with what she'd birthed and the shame she'd wrought upon her husband. Near the close of the letter, in summarizing Klaus's person, the older man had written that, instead of living to please his father as any good child would, his son was madly egotistical with a penchant for amoral behavior.

For Klaus, the opprobrium of his person was well merited, and he accepted the verbal beatings as a child accepting punishment for a wrong-doing. Rather, the pieces about his mother were the most difficult to process and, though his memories of her were hazy and few, he knew his father's descriptions to be entirely inaccurate. As a boy, Klaus had consistently pressed the village adults for details of her, and he could clearly recall many evenings at the feet of Marian's parents as they recounted her numerous qualities.

Though "tragic" was a word he'd heard many times in conjunction with her name, he more closely associated her with another frequented word: kind. His mother, Klaus knew, had been kind to a fault and the knowledge of her kindness had been the source of his epochal change in the aftermath of his expulsion from school. In being expelled he had distinctly felt, aside from fear, one central emotion: guilt. That particular night, as his father gripped the front of his shirt, their faces inches apart, strips of spittle clinging to Nickolaus's teeth, Klaus had been oblivious to the hatred and abhorrence painted across his father's visage. Instead, Klaus had only been able to see the same gold-colored eyes staring back at him, as if a mirror had been placed in front of his face. _I'm becoming my father,_ he'd later realized, in recounting his callous mistreatment of the other students that had led to his inevitable expulsion.

The reasons behind his decision to alter his personality, mannerisms, and lifestyle were three part: first, he feared he would become his father, judgmental and cold; second, he was concerned that if he didn't change, his mother's passing would have been justifiable by Nickolaus's reasoning-that Mara's selfish and inconsiderate son had caused her death; and third, Klaus felt an unrequited desire for Nickolaus's love and approval, which could not be obtained in his current state.

From that day forward, Klaus strove to be kind to every person and to be welcomed in every society. All the years of torturous teachings were put to use, regardless of necessity. He bowed when he parted from company, held open doors, and kissed the back of the hands of ladies. He shook the hands of equals and un-equals alike, his marks at school were perfect, and he excelled in his musical studies. At times, when he felt he'd faltered, had let himself or someone else down, he would work until he couldn't discern scents and details were hazy from a lack of sleep. He would not let himself sleep past his alarm, no matter at what hour he'd slipped into bed. In moments of weakness, he needed only to remind himself of the content of his father's letter and his determination was renewed.

The change was almost instantaneous in all matters except for his affections toward women. The great, yawning absence of love that he felt, he tried to fill with sex. In his youth, he'd loved and made love to numerous girls, more than he cared to count. His love was transient, easily transferable, and entirely dependent on his mood. In practice, he was like a wolf stalking prey, imperceptibly slipping in and out of lives. He would wake up before his partner, dress in the dark, and leave before she could even stir. When she called him, he would pretend to not be available. He couldn't be tied down, the next woman was around the corner.

All of that changed with the letter. With the realization that his father did not love him, Klaus had forced himself to look inward and to think about all the people to whom he'd promised love and, with the exception of Marian, hadn't delivered. These painful memories had served to quell the fire of interest and, seemingly overnight, he developed an indifference to women. If a woman insinuated an attraction to him, he politely declined. "She's pretty" or "she's smart", he would think, and could admire them for their qualities, but he did not love them. He could not love them, he'd thought, until now.

The persistent thoughts of Minori, both positive and negative, had become irregular in nature, and were evident in his self-loathing, which had reached new, frightening levels because she inspired in him desire, both physically and mentally, despite his vigorous attempts to resist it. Yet, at times, he also felt an internal kindness as if he could, with her help, learn to forgive himself for his insufficiency and past mistakes. In her presence, he was both strong and weak, the peak of which he had experience during their encounter in the woods.

At the time, his intentions had been pure: he'd wanted only to act as her protector and to issue a warning meant to keep her from harm. Regardless of his aim, his demonstration had had several unforeseen consequences: mingled within the sweet smell of her hair and skin was the undeniable scent of excitement. Her arousal, combined with their close physical proximity and his own budding feelings, had instigated a physical reaction in himself. The feeling had followed him home and he found he could accomplish nothing, as the floral scent of her person continued to pervade his senses.

Now, in his father's home, the sun wavering along a distant and mountainous horizon, Klaus lay down on his bed, not bothering to slip beneath the blankets. With his arms crossed behind his head, he allowed his eyes to close, his thoughts still ricocheting around his brain.

Klaus could not escape the knowledge that he had feelings for Minori. They would follow him, even if he left the town, left the country, or left the planet. He again felt the ache of unrequited love, though he could not bear to present himself to Minori as a potential lover, for fear that she would actually accept him. If she did and if she asked him to open up to her, she would inevitably see the dark, disgusting parts of him that his father had pointed out all those years before. _No matter what you do, or what you accomplish, you will always be filth. You're not even a true Wolffe, just a wolf, hairless with wolf-like eyes; a monstrosity._

The pieces of love and kindness that his mother had sewn so long ago were hazy memories, and he could only clearly recall the parts of his life that were distressing. The letter had been the final push toward change and self-awareness and, even at the young age of seventeen, Klaus had understood his feelings: he had been both saddened by and grateful for his father, because without Nickolaus's cruelty, Klaus might have become the very thing that he feared the most-his father.

 _[***]_

In the quiet moments before dawn, Marian returned, the bottle of powders rattling in his pocket. He closed the door behind him and stamped his feet to shake the snow from his slippers. When he lifted his eyes toward the bedroom, his mouth partially opened, prepared to chastise Klaus for disobedience, he immediately stood still, all movement ceasing.

Laying on the bed was Klaus, dressed in his pajamas and sound asleep. His eyebrows were knitted together in concern and his breath came in ragged draws.

 _He must be having a nightmare,_ Marian thought as he crossed the room. He lifted the hair from Klaus's damp forehead to check for an irregular temperature. _Nothing yet, but better safe than sick._ Marian retrieved a quilt from the left-hand armoire and spread the blanket over his friend before creeping back to the front door and slipping soundlessly into the swirling white snow outside. Klaus, rolling onto his side, let out a sigh and continued to sleep, his dreams fragmented and frightening.


End file.
